The LONGEST SUSPENDED BRIDGE in the world has been inaugurated: it connects two CONTINENTS

It allows you to cover a stretch that took an hour and a half in six minutes

Credits: @laprensaturca Çanakkale Bridge

A bridge long enough to be able to connect not only two regions or two states, but two continents. It seems almost unthinkable yet, there are two continents very close to each other, indeed attached, and sometimes the water that divides them can be beaten simply by building a bridge. A great engineering work that has just been inaugurated, a bridge welcomed with enthusiasm by some heads of state, this is where this very important bridge is.

The LONGEST SUSPENDED BRIDGE in the world has been inaugurated: it connects two CONTINENTS

# The bridge that connects two cities and two continents, but all in one state

Credits: Çanakkale Bridge @laprensaturca

This is the bridge that crosses the Dardanelles and connects Asia to Europe. Called the bridge of the battle of Gallipoli (Çanakkale Bridge), in memory of the conflict during the First World War where the Ottoman fleet defeated the British one, the engineering work was inaugurated by Turkey on 18 March.

The bridge, although it may seem a bit strange, connects two continents but is located within a single state: the Çanakkale Bridge in fact unites the European part of Turkey and the Asian one. Thanks to the bridge of the battle of Gallipoli, those who want to cross the strait can save themselves an hour and a half by ferry, instead crossing this bridge that is 3911 meters long.

# A union between East and West

Credits: @laprensaturca Çanakkale Bridge

In addition to being particularly functional, the Çanakkale Bridge has entered the Guinness Book of Records. It took 5 years to build it and required an investment of about 2.7 billion dollars, but its construction was well received by both the Turkish and South Korean Heads of State. The work was in fact financed from both states also with the aim of strengthening relations between them. Interesting were the words spoken by the Prime Minister of South Korea who reiterated how “this bridge will unite East and West and will bring peace and prosperity”. But what makes the bridge in the Guinness Book of Records is its length: overall it measures 3911 meters while between the two towers there are 2023 meters.

# 2023 meters suspended over the water

Credits: Çanakkale Bridge @turkiyenewsen

These data make it the longest suspension bridge in the world, surpassing its predecessor, the Akashi Strait Bridge, by only 32 meters. The bridge that connects more precisely the European city of Gelibolu (Gallipoli) to the Turkish city of Lapseki remains standing and “suspended” thanks to the particular structure of cables and rigid elements that connect the two towers, never before had it reached 2023 meters of bridge without meeting a tower or in general a support implanted in the ground. In any case, this bridge was a real turning point for the citizens of the two cities which can now be reached in 6 minutes by road rather than an hour and a half by ferry.

ALESSANDRO VIDALI

(Original article by Beatrice Barazzetti)