Kurushima Kaikyō Bridge

Kurushima Kaikyō Bridge 来島海峡大橋
Coordinates	34°07′14″N 132°59′51″E
Carries	4 lanes of roadway moped lane bicycle/pedestrian lane
Crosses	Seto Inland Sea
Locale	Imabari, Ehime, Japan
Maintained by	Honshū-Shikoku Bridge Project
Characteristics
Design	Suspension bridge
Total length	4,015 metres (13,173 ft)
Width	27 metres (89 ft)
History
Construction start	May 15, 1988
Opened	May 1, 1999
Location

The Kurushima Kaikyō Bridge (来島海峡大橋, Kurushima Kaikyō Ō-hashi), which connects the island of Ōshima to the main part of Shikoku, was the world's longest suspension bridge structure when completed, in 1999. The bridge is part of the Shimanami Kaidō, an expressway that spans a series of islands and connects Hiroshima Prefecture in Honshū to Ehime Prefecture in Shikoku. The bridge and the expressway were both conceived by the Honshū-Shikoku Bridge Project.

Construction

View of the roadway

The Kurushima Kaikyō Bridge consists of three successive suspension bridges with six towers and four anchorages. There is a shared anchorage that joins each suspension bridge to the next. Its construction is similar to the western portion of San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge which is two successive suspension bridges with four towers and one shared anchorage. The bridge's total length of 4,015 metres (13,173 ft), is just a little longer than the total length of the two tower Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, which is 3,911 metres (12,831 ft).

• First Kurushima Kaikyō Bridge (来島海峡第一大橋, Kurushima Kaikyō Daiichi Ō-hashi), main span 600 metres (1,969 ft), ranks 63rd largest two tower suspension bridge
• Second Kurushima Kaikyō Bridge (来島海峡第二大橋, Kurushima Kaikyō Daini Ō-hashi), main span 1,020 metres (3,346 ft), ranks 26th largest
• Third Kurushima Kaikyō Bridge (来島海峡第三大橋, Kurushima Kaikyō Daisan Ō-hashi), main span 1,030 metres (3,379 ft), ranks 25th largest

See also

• Akashi Kaikyō Bridge
• Great Seto Bridge
• List of longest suspension bridge spans

External links

• Kurushima Kaikyō Bridge home page
• Honshū-Shikoku Bridge Authority home page
• First Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge at Structurae
• Second Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge at Structurae
• Third Kurushima Kaikyo Bridge at Structurae