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  4. World's Strangest Bridges

World's Strangest Bridges

By Adam McCulloch
October 23, 2012
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Credit: National Geographic/Getty Images
An old railway bridge that had become an eyesore in Wuppertal, Germany, now surprises passersby with a neon underbelly that looks like a supersize Lego project. In fact, it’s the strange, inspired work of a street artist known as Megx.

Most bridges have a simple mission: to transport people and vehicles from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible. But where is the fun in that? Like Megx, some civil engineers and architects have let their imaginations run free when it comes to designing these deceptively simple spans, producing wonderfully strange bridges that confound, amuse, and sometimes solve complex planning challenges.

Take, for example, the Tianjin Eye Bridge in China, whose six lanes are straddled by one of the world’s largest Ferris wheels, or the Sunken Bridge in the Netherlands, which appears to lead pedestrians through rather than over the water. In Paris, you may soon be able to bounce your way across the Seine: AZC Architects has drawn up a proposal for an inflatable bridge with a trio of giant trampolines.

Related: The World's Strangest Beaches

Many such bridges would make 20th-century artist M. C. Escher—famous for his mind-bending lithographs that challenge perceptions of space and perspective—proud. The son of a civil engineer, Escher happens to have been born in Leeuwarden, the location of one of the craziest bridges we came across. When a ship traveling down the Harlinger Vaart River needs to cross traffic, a mechanical arm removes a 50-square-foot section of road and hoists it aloft like a giant robot flipping a pancake.

Escher recognized that a bridge links two worlds, yet it need not be anchored in the reality of either. Often it’s the pedestrian bridges that take this concept to heart and allow for the most whimsical designs. Free from the pressing needs and load-bearing concerns of commuter vehicles, these bridges pivot, unroll, submerge, and rotate.

While these bridges are marvels of engineering, you don’t need to know a Whipple trapezoidal truss from a Fink truss bridge to appreciate the sense of whimsy that goes into their creation. Read on to discover our picks for the world’s most remarkable bridges: we guarantee you won’t regret making the crossing.
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Credit: Rolf Dellenbusch

Getting to the other side is a lot more fun thanks to these strange bridges that pivot, unroll, and light up.

An old railway bridge that had become an eyesore in Wuppertal, Germany, now surprises passersby with a neon underbelly that looks like a supersize Lego project. In fact, it’s the strange, inspired work of a street artist known as Megx.

  • See the World’s Scariest Bridges

Most bridges have a simple mission: to transport people and vehicles from point A to point B in the most efficient way possible. But where is the fun in that? Like Megx, some civil engineers and architects have let their imaginations run free when it comes to designing these deceptively simple spans, producing wonderfully strange bridges that confound, amuse, and sometimes solve complex planning challenges.

Take, for example, the Tianjin Eye Bridge in China, whose six lanes are straddled by one of the world’s largest Ferris wheels, or the Sunken Bridge in the Netherlands, which appears to lead pedestrians through rather than over the water. In Paris, you may soon be able to bounce your way across the Seine: AZC Architects has drawn up a proposal for an inflatable bridge with a trio of giant trampolines.

Many such bridges would make 20th-century artist M. C. Escher—famous for his mind-bending lithographs that challenge perceptions of space and perspective—proud. The son of a civil engineer, Escher happens to have been born in Leeuwarden, the location of one of the craziest bridges we came across. When a ship traveling down the Harlinger Vaart River needs to cross traffic, a mechanical arm removes a 50-square-foot section of road and hoists it aloft like a giant robot flipping a pancake.

Escher recognized that a bridge links two worlds, yet it need not be anchored in the reality of either. Often it’s the pedestrian bridges that take this concept to heart and allow for the most whimsical designs. Free from the pressing needs and load-bearing concerns of commuter vehicles, these bridges pivot, unroll, submerge, and rotate.

While these bridges are marvels of engineering, you don’t need to know a Whipple trapezoidal truss from a Fink truss bridge to appreciate the sense of whimsy that goes into their creation. Read on to discover our picks for the world’s most remarkable bridges: we guarantee you won’t regret making the crossing.

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Tianjin Eye: Tianjin, China

Credit: Imaginechina/Corbis

When is a bridge not quite a bridge? When it’s a Ferris wheel, of course. The Tianjin Eye is a 394-foot-tall carnival ride over the Haihe River in northern China. Completed in 2007, the six-lane bridge incorporates 48 passenger capsules, each with a capacity of eight people. One full rotation takes half an hour, creating the perfect diversion for commuters stuck in bridge traffic.

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Rolling Bridge: London

Credit: Heatherwick Studio

Architecture firm Heatherwick studio rose to the challenge of designing a bridge to span the narrow Grand Union Canal at London’s Paddington Basin—while still allowing ships free passage. The strange, ingenious bridge is made of eight identical segments capable of rolling and unrolling like a party noisemaker. Every Friday at midday the hydraulic-powered construction is activated (regardless of boat traffic) to the amusement of waiting pedestrians.

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Sunken Bridge: Halsteren, Netherlands

Credit: Courtesy of Product Insider

Building a bridge over troubled waters makes sense. Building a bridge through the very waters you are trying to avoid is just plain crazy. Ro Koster and Ad Kil Architects constructed a remarkable sunken bridge in Halsteren to cross the defensive moat at Fort de Roovere, built in the 1700s to protect the Netherlands from invasion by France and Spain.

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Friendship Bridge: Nantan, Japan

Credit: Courtesy of Norihiko Dan and Associates

Ordinarily, a bridge is the shortest distance between two banks. The Friendship Bridge is no ordinary bridge. Located in the wellness resort town of Yoshi Springs, just outside of Kyoto, this bridge traces out a circle 262 feet in diameter. It was designed by Japanese architects Norihiko Dan and Associates and is meant to add to the contemplative serenity of the resort.

See the World’s Scariest Bridges

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Slauerhoffbrug: Leeuwarden, Netherlands

Credit: VAN DRIEL MECHATRONICA

In M. C. Escher’s hometown of Leeuwarden stands a bridge that resembles something out of War of the Worlds. When a ship traveling down the Harlinger Vaart River needs to cross traffic, a mechanical arm removes a 50-square-foot section of road and hoists it aloft like a giant robot flipping a pancake.

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Crab Bridge: Christmas Island, Australia

Credit: Courtesy of Christmas Island National Park

Why did the crab cross the road? To get to the other side—and join 120 million of his relatives. Christmas Island, a tiny Australian territory 230 miles off the coast of Indonesia, sees an annual migration of red crabs, journeying from their spawning grounds, located inland, to the ocean. The crabs migrate in such staggering numbers that roads become impassable, leading wildlife rangers to erect some of the strangest (and heavily trafficked bridges) on the planet.

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Lego Bridge: Wuppertal, Germany

Credit: Rolf Dellenbusch

Few bridges can boast a wonderful view from their underside. This apparently ordinary span was transformed over a period of four weeks by a street artist known as Megx into what resembles a supersize Lego construction, delivering a bright dose of childhood nostalgia for drivers passing beneath.

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Falkirk Wheel: Falkirk, Scotland

Credit: Courtesy of The Falkirk Wheel

A series of 11 locks once raised small ships the 115 feet from the Union Canal to the Forth and Clyde Canal above. When the entire mechanism was disassembled in 1933, this vital shipping link was broken. Seeking to reconnect the two canals, in 2002, British Waterways built the Falkirk Wheel, a strange contraption that allows ships to sail into a sealed bathlike pod that then rotates, bringing the boat to the new water level above.

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Henderson Waves Bridge: Singapore

Credit: ABDUL RAHMAN LATIFF

Connecting two bucolic hilltop parks in busy Singapore, this undulating sculpture of steel ribs resembles a Slinky, with dips and valleys concealing seating and vantage points from which to observe Henderson Road, 118 feet below. The pedestrian-only bridge lights up the night sky.

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London Bridge: Lake Havasu, AZ

Credit: Michael Dwyer / Alamy

This would be an ordinary bridge if it were still spanning the River Thames in London, England. What makes this century-old construction preposterous is the fact that in 1968 it was bought by chain-saw magnate Robert McCulloch, disassembled stone by stone, then transported to remote Lake Havasu, where it is now a rather incongruous local landmark (along with other oddities like one-third-scale functioning lighthouses).

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Xiying Rainbow Bridge: Penghu, Taiwan

Credit: Chris Cordova

By day, nothing appears especially remarkable about the Xiying Rainbow Bridge. But at night it transforms into a double rainbow the likes of which Internet meme celebrity Bear Vasquez (he of the rapturous double rainbow video) can only dream. The neon arch of this pedestrian bridge is reflected in the shimmering lagoon, creating a double arch of intense color.

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Twisted Bridge: Vlaardingen, Netherlands

Credit: Jeoren Musch

While this bridge does in fact provide a level surface for the pedestrians and cyclists who cross it, the startling red design looks dangerously tilted, almost as if the structure is sagging or about to flip into the ravine. Credit goes to Rotterdam-based architects West 8 for twisting 400 steel tubes in a dynamic fashion.

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Gateshead Millennium Bridge: Newcastle, England

Credit: Richard Klune / Corbis

The problem: how to design a pedestrian-, bike-, and wheelchair-friendly bridge that can still allow battleships up to 82 feet tall to pass beneath. The solution: an elegant hinging bridge comprising two arches and shaped somewhat like a lemon wedge. The bridge pivots through 40 degrees in just over four minutes, elevating the wide sweep of walkway into an elegant tall double arch—an action that has earned it the nickname The Winking Eye.

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Banpo Bridge: Seoul

Credit: Young Ho Lee

The Banpo Bridge, which crosses the Han River in downtown Seoul, features a 760-nozzle fountain that sprays 190 tons of water per minute a distance of up to 50 yards—while illuminated in a rainbow of colors and synchronized to music. Beneath the vehicular carriageway (which, on windy days, may well double as the world’s longest carwash) is a pedestrian walkway that’s often shrouded in fountain mist and—during high rainfall—completely submerged by the Han River.

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Dragon Pedestrian Bridge: Germany

Credit: © LOOK Die Bildagentur der Fotografen GmbH / Alamy

A dragon makes a fitting architectural motif for a region famous for the fire and brimstone of coal mining. Here, in the Ruhr Valley, such a red scaly creature watches over a 180-yard bridge that connects suburban Recklinghausen with the former mining waste dump of Hoheward, which is gradually being turned into a nature preserve.

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Flipper Bridge: China/Hong Kong

Credit: Courtesy of FastCompany.com

Proposed by Dutch firm NL Architects, the Flipper Bridge does more than carry traffic. It links opposing ideologies: mainland China (where they drive on the right) with the island of Hong Kong, where the left side is law. Over the water the bridge separates into two ribbons that form an open figure eight, changing sides in an elegant flow of diplomacy.

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Aiola Island Bridge: Graz, Austria

Credit: Courtesy of Architecture Linked

New York-based artist Vito Acconci is sensitive to the fact that people tend to pause at the midpoint of a bridge to enjoy the view. That observation inspired his creation of Aiola Island in 2003. This bridge over the Mur River in Graz, Austria, houses at its heart a bar, a coffeehouse, a theater, and a playground in a remarkable cochlea shaped dome made from triangular glass panels.

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Living Root Bridges: India

Credit: dave stamboulis / Alamy

These remarkable pedestrian bridges don’t need our engineering know-how; they grow naturally from the aerial roots of fig trees. The Megahalaya root bridges thrive in the East Khasi Hills, a remote district of northeast India. To grow your own follow these steps: near the base of a suitably large fig tree, lay a betel nut trunk over the stream you wish to cross; train the fragile young aerial roots over the surface; when they grow to reach the other bank let them take root in the soil and remove the tree trunk. In several years time, you can cross.

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Animal Bridge: Banff National Park, Canada

Credit: beanMOST

Stroll along this overgrown bridge, and you’re more likely to encounter wolves, moose and bears than fellow humans. The wildlife overpass provides safe passage for all manner of creatures to cross the Trans-Canada Highway from one part of the vast Banff National Park to the other. The structure appears to be both man-made yet primitive, rather like a set piece from the film I Am Legend.

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Steve Holl Architects Copenhagen Gateway: Denmark

Credit: Courtesy of Steve Holl Architects

This sleek pedestrian bridge appears like a platform for practicing one’s tightrope-walking skills. The construction is part of the winning bid by Steven Holl Architects to revamp the Copenhagen waterfront. Secured to two buildings by a series of cable-stays, the bridge floats 71 yards above the ground and provides an ideal vantage point from which to watch cruise ships pass below.

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Magdeburg Water Bridge: Germany

Credit: F1online digitale Bildagentur GmbH / Alamy

First dreamed up in 1919, this thousand-yard shipping bridge passes over the Elbe River allowing the Mittelland Canal to connect Berlin with the important industrial area of the Ruhr Valley. Before the water bridge was finished in 2003 (at a cost of $650 million) shipping traffic had to navigate a series of locks and the often unpredictable water levels of the Elbe which sometimes necessitated offloading cargo to gain clearance.

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Storseisundet Bridge: Norway

Credit: Peter Adams / Corbis

From certain angles the Storseisundet Bridge—part of a popular road-trip route linking small villages along the Atlantic Ocean—seems to vanish in midair. The 850 foot-long simple arch, and accidental optical illusion, was constructed in 1989 and makes a bend in the middle of the span that hides the other half from view. This commercial played up the bridge's drama, capturing a car zooming along as waves crash against the road.

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Moon Bridge: Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco

Credit: Jamie Pham / Alamy

While its arch looks purely ornamental, this style of traditional Japanese bridge is also practical. It allows canal barges to pass underneath and (able-bodied) pedestrians to pass overhead, scaling the sides like a ladder. This particular Moon Bridge was constructed in Japan by Shinshichi Nakatani for the 1894 Midwinter Fair in San Francisco.

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Ice Bridges: Alaska

Credit: National Geographic/Getty Images

Every frigid winter, Mother Nature builds her own bridges across Alaskan lakes and rivers, and locals reinforce them by thickening the ice with a mixture of water, ice chips, and snow. These ice bridges are so strong that they are often used when the route over a man-made bridge cannot support the heavy load of a fully laden semi-trailer.

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Everything in This Slideshow

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1 of 25
2 of 25 Tianjin Eye: Tianjin, China
3 of 25 Rolling Bridge: London
4 of 25 Sunken Bridge: Halsteren, Netherlands
5 of 25 Friendship Bridge: Nantan, Japan
6 of 25 Slauerhoffbrug: Leeuwarden, Netherlands
7 of 25 Crab Bridge: Christmas Island, Australia
8 of 25 Lego Bridge: Wuppertal, Germany
9 of 25 Falkirk Wheel: Falkirk, Scotland
10 of 25 Henderson Waves Bridge: Singapore
11 of 25 London Bridge: Lake Havasu, AZ
12 of 25 Xiying Rainbow Bridge: Penghu, Taiwan
13 of 25 Twisted Bridge: Vlaardingen, Netherlands
14 of 25 Gateshead Millennium Bridge: Newcastle, England
15 of 25 Banpo Bridge: Seoul
16 of 25 Dragon Pedestrian Bridge: Germany
17 of 25 Flipper Bridge: China/Hong Kong
18 of 25 Aiola Island Bridge: Graz, Austria
19 of 25 Living Root Bridges: India
20 of 25 Animal Bridge: Banff National Park, Canada
21 of 25 Steve Holl Architects Copenhagen Gateway: Denmark
22 of 25 Magdeburg Water Bridge: Germany
23 of 25 Storseisundet Bridge: Norway
24 of 25 Moon Bridge: Japanese Tea Garden, San Francisco
25 of 25 Ice Bridges: Alaska

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