A 494-meter-long bridge
The longest suspension bridge in the world is located in Switzerland and invites walkers to brave a narrow path that extends 86 meters above the ground at its highest point. In this article by Pacheco Architects, we will see how advances in engineering improve and facilitate people's lives. Well, the longest suspension bridge in the world reduces to just 10 minutes a journey that used to take between four and five hours.
The longest suspension bridge in the world.
The longest suspension bridge in the world is called Charles Kuonen and is located in the Swiss Alps. This bridge has a record length of 494 meters and, thanks to this construction, the towns of Grächen and Zermatt have been connected on the Europaweg pedestrian path. The Europaweg is a tour that takes you into the beautiful mountains of the Swiss and Italian Alps and is traveled and visited by thousands of hikers every year.
The bridge was inaugurated on July 29, 2017, and is named after the main donor of funds for its construction. This construction is basically built with steel and extends between 1,600 and 2,200 meters above sea level. This bridge actually replaces and considerably improves the old one, born in 2010 under the name of Europabrücke, but it had to be closed to the public due to several rockfalls, which finally killed it.
The neighbours then decided to raise the money for the construction, thanks to various sponsors and contributions from the surrounding area. Of all, the main sponsor was Charles Kuonen, a neighbour and owner of a winery in Salgesch (Upper Valais).
Thanks to this suspension bridge, Europaweg hikers will not have to go down into the valley and back up again, which makes the walk much easier and shorter. Well, what used to be a journey of between 4 and 5 hours, is now 10 minutes.
A guaranteed adventure
The longest suspension bridge in the world was officially opened to the public on July 29, 2017, and it takes about 2 hours to reach from Randa and 6-7 hours from Grächen or Zermatt. Whoever crosses it will face not only the 494 meters long by 65 centimetres wide at 85 meters high, but also a semi-transparent floor that allows the bottom of the valley to be seen. Adventure is guaranteed!
Incredibly, it took Swissrope and Lauber cable car engineers only 10 weeks to erect the bridge. The structure, which is only 65 cm wide, takes 10 minutes to cross; a trip that previously took hikers four hours.
The Swiss Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge has broken the record previously set by a glass-bottomed suspension bridge completed in 2016, the Kokonoe Yume. It is a large Japanese suspension bridge, located specifically in the Oita prefecture, approximately 390 meters long and designed to support a maximum of 1,800 people at the same time.
Bridge construction
For the construction of the longest suspension bridge in the world, the specialized railway and bridge technology company Swissrope/Lauber AG developed a new vibration-damping system that allows the bridge to oscillate slightly.
Charles Kuonen is not suitable for people with vertigo. Are. The almost 500 meters are covered by walking on a fence that acts as terrain from which you can see the precipice under our feet in all its splendour.
Keep on looking at our blog at Pacheco Arquitectos for more interesting articles.
Write a comment