Top 10. The longest bridges in Europe

People began to build the first bridges back in BC, connecting small settlements on the neighboring banks of the river. Gradually, the settlements grew to large cities, and after them the length of the bridge increased.

We have collected 10 the longest bridges in Europeby taking designs from different countries. That is why not all the bridges of Russia will be here, since there are too many of them, and there are only 10 points.

The bridge over the Yuribey, the Khabarovsk bridge, the Russky – all of them have a length of more than 3 km and are also worthy of attention, but we will consider others in detail.

10 Rion-Andirion, Greece | 2,88 km

Officially, it is called the Charilaos Trikoupis Bridge, but outside of Greece it is better known as Ron-Andirion.

Trikoupis is a Greek politician who proposed the idea of ​​building a bridge back in the XNUMXth century. He sensibly reasoned that the cities of Rion and Andirion needed to be connected, but the country’s economy in those years was unstable and no money was found for the construction.

This became possible only in the 1990s, when the project was again put forward for discussion in parliament.

The grand opening took place on August 7, 2004. In addition to the road for cars, the structure was equipped with pedestrian and bicycle paths.

Interesting fact: The Peloponnese peninsula, on which Andirion is located, annually moves away from mainland Greece by ~35 mm. During the construction of the bridge, this was taken into account and provided with the ability to expand.

9. Big Obukhovsky bridge, Russia | 2,884 km

This bridge connects not cities, but districts: Obukhovskoy Oborony Avenue and Oktyabrskaya Embankment in St. Petersburg.

Opened in 2004, it became the first fixed bridge across the Neva and the largest. If you look, it’s not even one, but two bridges that have the opposite direction of movement.

Unlike Ron-Andirion, the Obukhovsky bridge is designed exclusively for cars: pedestrian traffic is prohibited on it.

8. Second Severn Bridge, UK | 5,128 km

The River Severn is the longest in the UK, stretching for 354 kilometers. England and Wales are located on its different banks, which are connected by the Second Severn Bridge.

There were crossings at this place as early as the 1992th century, and the decision to build a modern bridge was made in XNUMX.

The construction process took 4 years and it was put into operation on June 5, 1996. The opening was a high-profile event and even the Prince of Wales took part in it.

Curious fact: if you go from Wales to England, the road will be completely free, but the trip in the opposite direction costs money. The amount is indexed annually to reflect economic realities.

7. Presidential Bridge, Russia | 5,825 km

The construction of the bridge that connects the right-bank and left-bank parts of Ulyanovsk began in the 80s.

The project was repeatedly redone, then the Soviet Union collapsed, so the work dragged on for 23 years. The total cost for 2008 was almost 38.5 billion rubles, which is about 14 billion more than the original budget.

The first stage of the bridge was opened in 2009 with the participation of President Dmitry Medvedev, and 2 years later the second complex was opened.

The builders used advanced technologies and materials, seeking to maximize the life of the structure. The estimate from this, of course, has grown, but the contractor guarantees safety.

6. Great Belt, Denmark | 6,79 km

The Great Belt Bridge in Denmark connects the islands of Zeeland and Funen by crossing the Belt.

Its construction began in 1988 and took 10 years, and the entire project cost almost 21.5 billion DKK.

Before the bridge was put into operation, a ferry service was operating, providing a flow of 8 cars daily, and with the bridge this number increased to 000.

In addition, the travel time was reduced by more than an hour, which had a positive effect on trade between the eastern and western parts of the country.

Interesting fact: during construction, flora and fauna suffered damage that exceeded the indicators stated in the project documentation. This caused a small scandal: the animal rights activists made a bunch of claims and threatened to sue the contractor, but later it turned out that nothing irreparable happened and the conflict came to naught.

5. Øresund Bridge, Sweden and Denmark | 7,845 km

The bridge that runs across the Øresund Strait and connects Copenhagen (Denmark) and Malmö (Sweden) is a whole complex.

In addition to the four-lane motorway, it is equipped with a double-track railway, due to which it is the longest combined bridge in Europe. It was put into operation on July 1, 2000.

This is interesting: in addition to its importance for the infrastructure of the two countries, the bridge has a huge cultural significance. So, it serves as the setting for the plot of the plot in the detective series “The Bridge”, which is one of the best creations of Scandinavian television. Its adaptations have been filmed in many countries, including Russia.

4. Saratov bridge | 12,76 km

The first major bridge across the Volgograd reservoir, connecting Saratov and Engels, was opened back in 1965. With a length of 2.8 km, it was the longest in Europe, but for our list it is “short”.

More suitable is the new Saratov bridge with a length of 12.76 km, fully completed in 2009.

Curious fact: the quarry, where materials were mined for the construction of a new bridge, turned into Blue Lake. The name was given for the unusual blue color of the water, which at first scared away the locals. Now the reservoir has 500 meters in length and 250 in width.

3. Bridge over Kamu | 13,967 km

The bridge is part of the road that runs through Kazan, Orenburg and reaches the border with Kazakhstan.

The four-lane bridge began to be built in 1992 and opened in 2002. Having connected the Zakamsky districts of the central and southern parts of Tatarstan, the bridge continued to be enlarged until it was completely completed in 2016 with the participation of the President of the Republic.

Interesting fact: after the bridge over the Kama was opened, the airports in Chistopol and Nurlat had to be closed. This was done due to the fact that with the advent of the bridge, the need for air communication with Kazan disappeared.

2. Vasco da Gama, Portugal | 17,2 km

The bridge, named after the Portuguese navigator of the era of the Great Geographical Discoveries, was opened in 1998, although all the tracks were finally completed much later. The total cost of the project was about $1.1 billion.

Before the construction of the bridge, which we will talk about later, Vasco da Gama was the longest in Europe. It is designed to operate for 120 years and, in theory, can withstand wind gusts up to 250 km / h, that is, it has a huge margin of safety. Even a strong earthquake is not afraid of him, according to the statements of the builders.

1. Crimean bridge, Russia | 18,1 km

Let’s finish with the Russian bridge, which is now the longest in Europe. Its construction began in 2016, and the first cars passed through it in the spring of 2018 (the railway service was launched in the winter of 2019).

The bridge is of great importance not only in terms of infrastructure, but also as a political object against the backdrop of disagreements between Russia and Ukraine.

Despite the fact that very little time has passed since the opening, the film “Crimean Bridge. Made with love!”.