Nobody knows the exact date of construction of the world’s first hanging bridge. There is reliable information about the construction of such structures in Southeast Asia, ancient Egypt, Central and South America. Therefore, we can assume that such a design has been known to humanity for more than 3 thousand years. True, throughout this time, hanging bridges remained quite primitive and allowed to overcome small water barriers and gorges.
With the development of technology, hanging bridges became stronger, longer and more reliable. The first modern bridge was built by James Finley in 1796 in the northeast of the United States. Since then, among the projects of engineers, a competition began for the title of the longest bridge, which is currently won by the Akashi Kaykeo bridge by Japanese specialist Satoshi (on the map). He connects the islands of Sikoku and Avaji and in his short history has already entered the Guinness Book of Records twice. Firstly, Akashi Kaiko is recognized as the longest hanging bridge in the world. The distance from one end to the other is 3911 meters. Secondly, the construction of Satoshi in the period from 1998 to 2004 was recognized as the highest bridge in the world. Only Viaduk Miyo in the south of France was able to surpass him.
I want to Japan!
The construction of the Akashi Kaykeo bridge began in 1988 and lasted 10 years. Frequent and strong storms, as well as almost one and a half thousand ships, daily plying on the strait, created additional difficulties for workers. Initially, in the project, on which hundreds of specialists worked for almost 3 years, it was assumed that the length of the central section of the structure would be 1990 meters. But the forces of nature brought their adjustments to the plans of engineers. In 1995, a very strong earthquake occurred in Kobe, due to which one of the pylons deviated by a given course by almost 1 meter, so the entire bridge had to be “pulled out” as much as to maintain integrity and calculated strength.
Another problem that the workers faced was due to the fact that concrete for the supports of the bridge had to be laid directly under water. To successfully solve this issue, it was necessary to create a new type of building material, which froze as quickly as possible right at the bottom of the bay.
The design of any modern suspension bridge consists of many steel cables. Akashi Kaiko has so many of them that they can indulge our entire planet almost seven times! Particular attention during the construction of the bridge was given to safety. The grandiose structure is so stable that it can calmly withstand the most powerful underwater currents, the wind, the speed of which reaches 80 meters per second, as well as magnitude earthquakes up to 8.5 points.
About 2 million workers took part in the construction of the Akashi Kaykeo bridge. The state spent about $ 5 billion on the construction of a structure. In order to somehow recoup costs, traveling on the bridge was made paid. Now this pleasure costs $ 20. Due to such a high price, many Japanese prefer to continue to use ferries to cross the Akashi Strait.
Next to the Akashi Kaikeo bridge is a museum dedicated to him. In it you can see a reduced copy of the structure, study information about all stages of its construction, from digging the pit and ending with the tension of the cables. The museum occupies two floors and consists of 13 separate zones. In addition to the layout of the bridge, there is part of this cable, the diameter of which is 1.12 meters.
The museum accepts visitors daily, except Monday and holidays. Its doors are open from 09:15 to 17:00 a.m. from the beginning of April to July 19, to 18:00 – from July 20 to July 31, and the rest of the time it works until 16:30.
A special observation deck is provided for tourists on the bridge itself, however, you can only get up to it, accompanied by a museum employee. From there, from a height of a 100-storey building, an incredible view of the bridge, the city of Kobe and the island of Avaji opens. Every day two excursions are organized on the site. The ticket price is 3000 yen (1920 rubles). The application for a visit to the observation deck must be submitted in advance and at least 2 months before the planned date.
It is easiest to get to the longest hanging bridge in the world from Osaka, where the international airport is located. It is usually possible to fly to this Japanese city from Russia with just one transplant. The cost of tickets starts from 25 thousand rubles.
Convenient site for finding hotels – Onetwotrip.
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Author: Roskin Mikhail
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