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July 11, 2011
The world's longest bridge over water, now open and in Google Earth
The world's longest bridge over water, connecting China's port city of Qingdao with an airport on the other side of Jiaozhou Bay, has finally opened. The bridge is 26.4 miles long, making it the longest bridge in the world.
The building of the bridge has generated some amazing statistics:
• It stands on 5,200 pillars.
• It cost around $1.5 billion to build.
• It uses enough steel for almost 65 Eiffel Towers - 450,000 tons, along with 81 million cubic feet of concrete.
• It can withstand a magnitude 8 earthquake, typhoons, or the impact of a 300,000 ton ship.
GEC member TomKjeldsen found the bridge in Google Earth, and added a few paths to show the bridge in the "open water" areas that don't show anything in there.
To see it for yourself, you can simply use this KMZ file. 
The bridge will hold its title for about 5 years; in 2016, a 30 mile bridge is expected to be completed that links Hong Kong with Macao and Guandong province.
Posted by mickmel at July 11, 2011 7:20 AM
Comments
Posted by: David at July 11, 2011 7:39 AM
I don't understand why this is considered the longest bridge over water. If you measure it in Google Earth, it clearly shows the main bridge is only 15 miles long. The spur is another mile and a half or so.
And guess what? 16.3 miles = 26.4 km. I think there is a severe mix-up with the conversion of units for this "record".
Posted by: ChrisZ at July 11, 2011 11:39 AM
This is not the longest bridge over water. Despite hearing many claims from bridges in Europe and in Asia nearly every year, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway has been the longest continuous bridge over water since the 1970's, and is still the longest in the world.
Posted by: Micah Walton at July 12, 2011 12:20 AM
It all depends on how you define 'bridge', and if you include portions that do not cross water. There's also a distinction in use: the longest bridge of any type is a railway bridge (in China) that's just under 100 miles long. The Jiaozhou Bridge really is 26+ miles, but you're right in saying that only about 15 miles are across water, so the Pontchartrain Bridge is still the longest 'continuous bridge'. See wikipedia for the complete list: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longest_bridges_in_the_world
Posted by: dapascha at July 12, 2011 9:28 AM
all depends on how you define 'bridge', and if you include portions that do not cross water. There's also a distinction in use: the longest bridge of any type is a railway bridge
Posted by: clippingpathbangladesh at July 17, 2011 1:10 PM
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Clicking on "historical imagery" shows those hidden areas too :)