The world's longest bridge over water was opened for traffic last Thursday in China's Shandong province. At 42.5 kilometres long, the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge connects the port city of Quingdao with an airport on nearby Hongdao Island and the industrial suburb of Huangdao. The six-lane, 33-metre wide bridge was designed by Chinese engineers, cost CNY14.8 billion (US$2.28 billion), and took four years to build, according to state media. It stands on 5,200 pillars, using 408,000 tonnes of steel and 2.3 million cubic metres of concrete. The bridge is designed to withstand earthquakes, typhoons and collisions from ships.
