Back in the day, bridges used to be just logs, planks, and rope that aid in crossing streams and rivers. Somewhere along the way, people began complicated designs which eventually evolved to seriously amazing feats of engineering and architecture that do more than take you across water. Here are some of these bridges that are worth seeing for yourself:
1. River Hull Footbridge: A bridge that swings you across the river
Photo via Archdaily
Location: Hull, United Kingdom.
Passengers can “ride” this bridge to get across the river while it makes way for river traffic. The hub section even has a restaurant and a viewing platform that rotates with it.
2. Aiola Island Bridge: The ultimate hangout bridge
Photo via Architecture Linked
Location: Gratz, Austria.
Designed to link nature with the city, this trendy island-bridge contains a bar, a cafe, a sunbathing area, an open-air theatre, and a children’s playground. It was originally intended to be relocated to another river or city, but the people loved it so much, it stayed.
3. Yongle Bridge: The only bridge with a Ferris Wheel attached to it
Photo via Windoworld
Location: Tianjin, China.
The Tianjin Eye, towering 354 feet high, makes a full circle in 30 minutes. That’s a fun way to kill time when stuck in traffic.
4. Heatherwick’s Rolling Bridge: A bridge that rolls up on its own
Location: London, England.
Created by designer/engineer Thomas Heatherwick, this rolling bridge can practically twist itself from a free-standing octagonal fixture into a smart-looking pedestrian bridge.
5. Vancouver Land Bridge: An awesome-looking bridge that pays tribute to Canadian culture and history
Photo via Lando-Landscape Architecture
Location: Vancouver, Canada.
The Vancouver Land Bridge is part of a 2.3-mile trail winds through the historical sites of Canada including the Columbia River. The trail is marked by Native American artwork among blooming flowers and lush landscapes.
6. Foryd Harbour Cycle & Pedestrian Bridge: A flappy bridge
Location: Ryll, North Wales.
7. Pont Jacques Chaban-Delmas: A bridge with an elevator function
Photo via Projets-Architecte-Urbanisme
Location: Boreaux, France.
A futuristic four-poster bridge that lifts traffic up for ships to sail through. Bet the view up there is fantastic.
8. BP Pedestrian Bridge: A snaky bridge that blocks out traffic noise
Photo via Designalmic
Location: Chigaco, Illinois, USA.
Designed by architect Frank Gehry, this stunning bridge was inspired by a certain scaly reptile that has haunted many of his works since the 1960′s.
9. Gateshead Millennium Bridge: A winking, tilting bridge
Photo via BBC News
Location: Gateshead, United Kingdom.
The Gateshead Millennium is also called the ’Blinking Eye Bridge’ or the ‘Winking Eye Bridge’ because of its peculiar movement when it pivots itself to provide clearance above the river. Tourists love watching the works.
10. Falkirk Wheel: A revolving boat lift from the future
Location: Falkirk, Scotland.
11. Banpo Bridge: Korea’s famous rainbow fountain bridge
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Location: Seoul, South Korea.
A bridge built to entertain. Its inbuilt fountain is programmed to play shows throughout the day. At daytime it plays with different shapes of sprays, while at night it sends jets of rainbow-coloured water to the air while music plays in the background.
12. Red Python Bridge: A bridge that will swallow you whole
Photo via Jovarq
Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Connecting Borneo Island and Sporenburg, this bridge is a popular destination for neighbourhood youngsters to dive into the cool canal on hot summer days. Don’t let the snake-like form fool you. It’s perfectly safe.
13. Henderson Waves: Singapore’s trendy hangout bridge
Photo via Yurtopic
Location: Singapore
This is where all the cool kids in Singapore hang out. Its smooth, undulating wood panel hollows are the perfect place to take Instagrams.
14. Da Nang’s Fire-Breathing Dragon Bridge: Just a fire-breathing dragon bridge
Location: Da Nang, Vietnam.
Nothing’s more badass than a fire-breathing, steel-hewn dragon bridge. It sprays water and lights up with rainbow LEDs too.
15. Magdeburg Water Bridge: A bridge that connects rivers, not roads
Photo via Home Desgn
Location: Magdeburg, Germany.
The boss of all aqueducts, the Magdeburg Water Bridge is an engineering feat fusing two faraway rivers over another via an artificial river bridge thing that looks totally awesome.
16. Helix Bridge: A bridge that resembles the structure of the DNA
Photo by Angus Martin
Location: Singapore
Want to find out what the DNA looks like a million times magnified? Here’s an idea (minus the sparkly multi-colour LED effect, of course).
17. Hovenring: A floating bridge roundabout for cyclists
Photo via Reddit
Location: Eindhoven, Netherlands.
Cycling in Eindhoven is heaven, and this bridge is probably its most blissful spot. Suspended by steel cables from a balancing pylon, the Hovenring is practically floating on air while cyclists happily paddle around it.
18. Moses Bridge: A sunken bridge that lets you walk through, not over, water
Photo via Best-Koeln
Location: Fort De Roovere, Netherlands.
Remember Moses parting the Red Sea to free the Israelites from the slavery of Egypt? That’s the idea. Would have been cooler (or creepier) if the side walls were made of glass though.
19. The Root Bridges of Cherrapunji: Natural bridges made entirely of living tree roots
Photo via Wikimedia Commons
Location: Cherrapunji, India.
Finally, a group of epic bridges that weren’t built, but grown. Tribesmen in Meghalaya use a natural guidance system to direct roots of a particular Indian rubber tree to create a bridge crossing the river. These bridges are said to be 500 years old.
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