The longest bridge in the world is located in China. The Danyang-Kunshan Viaduct was built in Jiangsu province and stretches for 164.8 kilometers - a length that is often rounded to 165 kilometers. The facility connects the areas around the cities of Danyang and Kunshan and is part of the Beijing-Shanghai high-speed railway line.
“The Danyang-Kunshan Viaduct is 164 kilometers long“, states the “Guinness“ Book of Records, which recognizes the facility as the longest bridge in the world. The difference between the 164 and 164.8 kilometers mentioned comes from the way of rounding, and not from a difference in the record itself.
Railway bridge over the plain
The Danyang-Kunshan Bridge is not a classic suspension bridge, carried over a large body of water. It is a long railway viaduct, erected over the low and densely populated plain in the Yangtze River Delta. There are canals, rivers, lakes, roads and farmland along the route, and the high structure allows the railway to pass through the terrain without many level crossings.
The bridge is used by high-speed trains on the line between Beijing and Shanghai. It was opened to traffic on June 30, 2011, along with the high-speed rail link between the two Chinese metropolises.
China dominates among the longest bridges
The record of the Danyang-Kunshan Viaduct is related to the total length of the structure, and not to the length of one main opening or the distance the bridge crosses over water. That is why among the longest bridges in the world, railway viaducts built on flat areas predominate.
According to “Guinness“ the second place is occupied by the Langfang-Qingxiang Viaduct, also in China, with a length of 114 kilometers. Thus, the two leading positions in the ranking are for facilities built as part of the Chinese high-speed rail network.
Sources: guinnessworldrecords.com, theguardian.com