The world’s largest suspension bridge
On April 5, 1998, Japan made engineering history with the official opening of the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, also known as the Pearl Bridge, to traffic. Spanning the Akashi Strait and connecting the city of Kobe on the Japanese mainland to Awaji Island, this marvel of modern engineering became the world’s longest suspension bridge, with a main span of 1,991 meters (6,532 feet).
The need for such a structure arose after a tragic accident in 1955, when two ferries sank in the strait during a storm, killing 168 people. This spurred the Japanese government to initiate a project that would offer a safer and more reliable means of crossing. Construction began in 1988 and took nearly a decade to complete, involving over 100 contractors and thousands of workers. The bridge was originally designed as a railway-roadway hybrid, but after revisions, it became a road-only bridge carrying six lanes of highway traffic.
During construction, the Great Hanshin Earthquake struck the region in 1995. Despite the quake’s magnitude of 7.2, the nearly completed bridge sustained no structural damage, a testament to its advanced seismic engineering and flexible design. Interestingly, the earthquake shifted the two anchor points of the bridge, increasing its length by almost a meter—but construction continued with adjustments made accordingly The world’s largest suspension bridge.
The Akashi Kaikyō Bridge not only redefined suspension bridge engineering but also became a symbol of technological excellence, safety, and resilience. It significantly improved travel and logistics between Honshu and Shikoku islands and stands today as one of Japan’s most iconic infrastructural landmarks, attracting millions of visitors and bridge enthusiasts from around the globe The world’s largest suspension bridge.
