The Aizhai Bridge () is a

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

on the

G65 Baotou–Maoming Expressway The Baotou–Maoming Expressway (), designated as G65 and commonly referred to as the Baomao Expressway () is an expressway that connects the cities of Baotou, Inner Mongolia, China, and Maoming, Guangdong. When fully complete, it will be in leng ...

near Jishou,

Hunan Hunan (, ; ) is a landlocked province of the People's Republic of China, part of the South Central China region. Located in the middle reaches of the Yangtze watershed, it borders the province-level divisions of Hubei to the north, Jiangxi to ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. The bridge was built as part of an expressway from southwest China's

Chongqing Chongqing ( or ; ; Sichuanese dialects, Sichuanese pronunciation: , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Romanization, alternately romanized as Chungking (), is a Direct-administered municipalities of China, municipality in Southwes ...

Municipality to

Changsha Changsha (; ; ; Changshanese pronunciation: (), Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is the capital and the largest city of Hunan Province of China. Changsha is the 17th most populous city in China with a population of over 10 million, an ...

. The bridge is famous for the spectacular view it offers those crossing it. With a main span of and a deck height of , , it is the thirteenth-highest bridge in the world and the world's nineteenth-longest suspension bridge. Of the world's 400 or so highest bridges, none has a main span as long as Aizhai. It is also the world's highest and longest tunnel-to-tunnel bridge. The bridge contains 1888 lights to increase visibility at night. Construction on the Aizhai Bridge began in October 2007 and was completed by the end of 2011, ahead of schedule. The bridge was temporarily opened to pedestrians during the 2012 Spring Festival and was formally opened to traffic in March 2012. The bridge was built with the assistance of a $208 million loan from the

Asian Development Bank The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a regional development bank established on 19 December 1966, which is headquartered in the Ortigas Center located in the city of Mandaluyong, Metro Manila, Philippines. The bank also maintains 31 field office ...

; the total project cost was $610 million, which included of expressway construction (two thirds of which comprised bridge and tunnel) and upgrades to of local roads.http://www.adb.org/Documents/RRPs/PRC/37494-PRC-RRP.pdf The bridge and the associated road construction were projected to reduce the travel time between Jishou and Chadong from 4 hours to less than 1 hour. In September 2012, the Aizhai Bridge was the site of an international BASE jumping festival that included more than 40 jumpers from 13 countries.

References

External links

*
Aizhai Bridge on HighestBridges.com
*
Video from ''The Telegraph'' including aerial views of the Aizhai Bridge
{{Authority control Bridges in Hunan Bridges completed in 2012 Suspension bridges in China

See also

References

External links