Blessing TenumahThere are so many bridges worldwide. Seeing a small bridge does not come often and I’m sure if you happen to see one you might be shocked by the size. Every bridge you see today is not of the same size, and bridges are used in connecting countries and other things. It serves as a form of pathway or a form of road for those living in that particular place or city. All major bridge you see today is being built with public money, not all bridges look the same and some are even more beautiful, bigger and longer than others. Therefore the bridge has a goal which is to be efficient, economical and as safe as possible.
Top 10 Smallest Bridges in the World (2023)
1. Zavikon Bridge
The tiny bridge goes back in ages and it is known to be the world’s smallest international bridge. This bridge connects two islands and it is said to be the shortest international crossing in the world. The bridge is just 32 feet long, stretching from one island to the next in the Saint Lawrence River and it has hundreds of small islands that are in a 50-mile-long archipelago split between New York in the United States and Ontario in Canada, with the boundaries sometimes murky in the waters.
2. Sormerset Bridge, Bermuda
The Somerset Bridge is known as the smallest bridge in the world. This bridge is connecting Somerset Island and the mainland in the western parish of Sandys. This bridge is being opened by hand and it creates a 32-inch gap that allows the passage of a sails boat mast, the draw bridge is depicted on a Bermudian banknote.
3. Salginatobel Bridge
This is a reinforced concrete arch bridge that is designed by a Swiss engineer and was constructed along the alpine ravine. The Salginatobel bridge arch is 133 metres (436 ft) long in total, and its main element is a hollow concrete box girder over the central part of the arch. It carries a roadway 3.5 metres (11 ft) wide, supported on reinforced concrete pillars above the ends of the arches. The bridge has received widespread attention since its innovative design and construction, including considerable praise from other bridge engineers, architects and architectural historians
4. Bhumibol Bridge
This Bridge is also known as the industrial ring road bridge which is connecting southern Bangkok with Samut Prakan province. The bridge aimed to solve traffic problems in Bangkok and surrounding areas, especially the industrial areas around it. Motorcycles are banned from using the bridges due to safety concerns and the bridge In October 2009, it was announced that both bridges would be named after King Bhumibol Adulyadej, with the northern bridge officially named “Bhumibol 1 Bridge” and the southern bridge “Bhumibol 2 Bridge”. The unofficial name “Mega Bridge” was also widely used.
5. Jacques Cartier Bridge
It was originally named the Montreal Harbor bridge and it was renamed in 1934 which is to commemorate the 400th anniversary of Jacques Cartier’s first voyage up the St. Lawrence River. The bridge crosses Saint Helen’s Island in the centre of the river, where offramps allow access to the Parc Jean-Drapeau and La Ronde amusement park. Originally, the bridge was constructed with only one ramp to Saint Helen’s Island, located on the western side of the bridge. In 1961, a second ramp was built on the east side to prevent cars travelling to Montreal from having to cross the path of those heading toward Longueuil, a major source of accidents.
6. Jiangyin Yangtze River Bridge
This Bridge is located in China and it has a main span of about 1,385 meters it connects the Jiangyin south river to the Jiangyin in the north river. It is designed as a suspension bridge and is known as one of the smallest in the world today. In 2002 the bridge received an award at the International Bridge Conference for “outstanding achievement in bridge engineering that, through vision and innovation, provides an icon to the community for which it was designed.”
7. Puente Orinoquia Bridge
This is one of the smallest bridges in the world. The Puente Orinoquia bridge is a combined road and railway bridge and it was inaugurated in 2006. The bridge is 3km wide with two navigation channels that are separated by a small island that is revealed during the low water season. It was built to complement the existing Angostura Bridge and to provide a more direct connection with the important industrial city of Ciudad Guayana. In particular, it was intended to provide for a future rail connection to allow the city’s heavy industrial products to be transported to the ports of Venezuela’s Caribbean coast.
8. Dona Ana Bridge
The Bridge is 3.67 kilometres long and its construction was completed in 1934. In 1922, the Trans-Zambezia Railway Company completed a line from Beira to Murracca on the Zambezi, opposite Chindio, so there was an almost-complete rail link from Blantyre to Beira except for the short river crossing by ferry. The bridge was completely closed to vehicular traffic in October 2006 for rehabilitation and re-conversion to a rail bridge and was reopened as a rail bridge in 2009. In 2017, it underwent a renovation, particularly to its pedestrian lane, used by over 3,000 people daily.
9. Al Salam Bridge
This Bridge is known as the Egyptian and Japanese Friendship Bridge. It was built with the assistance of the Japanese government and the bridge, which has a 70-metre (229 ft 8 in) clearance over the canal and is 3.9 kilometres (2.4 mi) long, consists of a 400-metre (1,300 ft) cable-stayed main span and two 1.8-kilometre (1.1 mi) long approach spans.
10. Esperança, Portugal, Bridge
This bridge is so small that you can easily hop from one country to another. The little bridge links the Spanish municipality of La Codosera with the Portuguese Arronches. Given its petite size, the bridge is largely for pedestrians, not automobiles, though two-wheeled vehicles may use it as well.
Closing
We have given you everything you need to know about the smallest bridges in the world. Whenever you pay a visit to any of these countries where the bridges are located you can go for sightseeing to experience and see the bridges.