A marathon effort: 26-mile bridge opens
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A bridge so long that it could host an entire marathon race has been opened between the Chinese port of Qingdao with the industrial suburb of Huangdao. It crosses Jiaozhou Bay and is the world's longest sea bridge.
The Qingdao Haiwan Bridge stretches 26.4 miles, making it two-tenths of a mile longer than the English Channel.
Construction teams totalling 10,000 workers took four years to build the £1.42bn bridge, which carries a six-lane highway, 110 feet across, that has halved the journey time across the bay for motorists to half an hour. It is expected to carry up to 30,000 cars daily.
It is designed to stand up to a magnitude-eight earthquake and is supported by 5,200 pillars – 450,000 tons of steel and 2.3 million cubic metres of concrete were used in its construction.
But come 2016, it is due to be surpassed by an even longer structure, linking Hong Kong with the Guangdong province.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments