The World's Highest Bridge Is Now Open to Traffic

China's Beipanjiang Bridge is the height of a 200-story building
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 4, 2017 3:40 PM CST
The World's Highest Bridge Is Now Open to Traffic
In this photo taken Saturday Sept. 10, 2016, an aerial view of Beipanjiang Bridge across the Beipanjiang valley is seen in Shuicheng county in southwest China's Guizhou province.   (Chinatopix Via AP)

It appears China has yet to meet a chasm it can't build a bridge over. CCTV reports the country just opened the world's highest bridge—beating its own record. The Beipanjiang Bridge is 1,850 feet above the Beipan River. That's essentially the height of a 200-story building. The 4,400-foot-long bridge is part of the Huangrui Highway, according to India Today, and is expected to cut the travel time between Guizhou and Yunnan provinces by 3.5 hours. Construction on the Beipanjiang Bridge started in 2013, and its two sides were finally connected last September. It cost approximately $143 million.

China is also home to the world's second and third highest bridges—the Sidu River Bridge and Puli Bridge, the Telegraph reports. The Sidu River Bridge is approximately 210 feet lower than the new Beipanjiang Bridge. According to USA Today, while the Beipanjiang Bridge might be the world's highest, it's oddly not its tallest. The latter measurement includes the height of any structures built on the bridge, giving the record to the Millau Viaduct in France. (More bridge stories.)

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