Bridge building is a costly business, as evidenced by the 11 most expensive bridges ever built. The cost of building a bridge can often be astronomical, because of the tons of materials involved, the labor required to build the bridge and the overheads involved as well. Furthermore, building a large bridge is not a simple, one week project. It can often take years, and sometimes even more than a decade.
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Taking into effect the cost of inflation, it is no surprise that more or less every entry in this list pertains to bridges built in the last 15 years or so. In addition, the cost of insurance has also increased significantly in recent years, which in turn has led to bridges being even more expensive. Another reason explaining the high cost of bridges is that the relevant department or construction agency has to consider and restore the environmental damage that will be caused by building the bridge, which can increase its cost as well. This is the reason why bridges are more expensive than say, even the most exorbitant golf course, which can be viewed at the 5 most expensive golf courses in the world.
Some of the most famous bridges in the world, such as the Golden Gate Bridge and the San Francisco Bay Bridge do not feature outright on this list because they were built decades ago, when the cost of building a bridge was relatively cheap. This is despite the fact that we accounted for inflation as per 2015 while calculating the cost of a bridge.
We set out on a task to determine the 10 most expensive bridges ever built. We considered the total cost of a variety of bridges located throughout the world, by using various sources such as International Database, Wikipedia and various news websites to establish our rankings, which are as follows:
11. Freeway Durango-Mazatlán and Baluarte Bridge
Cost of bridge: $1.46 billion
This is not just a bridge, but a freeway as well, located in Durango, Sinaloa in Mexico. It is the highest cable-stayed bridge in the world, at a height of 403.4 meters, a feat which was recognized by the Guinness Book of Wold Records back in 2012. It has been cited by many as providing an excellent way for smugglers to easily transport illegal drugs.
10. Jiaozhou Bay Bridge
Cost of bridge: $1.51 billion
Located in Shangdong, China, the Jiaozhou Bay Bridge is part of the Jiazhou Bay Connection Project. While the bridge spans nearly 27 kilometers, it is part of a 41-kilometer highway, which was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the longest bridge built over water in the world. It took around four years for the massive project to be completed and the bridge was opened for public in June, 2011.
9. Incheon Bridge
Cost of bridge: $1.55 billion
Named after the capital of South Korea, the Incheon Bridge was completed in 2009, after a period of around four years. This structure’s beauty has been appreciated globally, and it is the seventh largest cable-stayed bridge in the world, and was built in order to reduce the time taken to travel from the Songdo Business District to the Incheon International Airport, which incidentally, is one of the largest airports by cargo and international passenger traffic in the world. The bridge spans 21 kilometers in length.
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8. Vasco De Gama Bridge
Cost of bridge: $1.8 billion
The Vasco De Gama Bridge is located in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal and was completed in 1999, in a period of three years. The bridge spans 17 kilometers and was built in order to ease the congestion faced by Lisbon’s other bridge, 24 de Abril Bridge, as well as to connect the motorways initiating from the city of Lisbon. Over 3,000 workers were involved in the construction of this massive bridge.
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7. Yeongjong Bridge
Cost of bridge: $1.94 billion
Another South Korean bridge makes the link, signifying the importance the country devotes to its infrastructure. This bridge, which is part of the Incheon International Airport Expressway, was opened back in 2000, after work done on the project took 5 years.
6. Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge
Cost of bridge: $2 billion
Located in Istanbul Turkey, this is the first bridge in the 10 most expensive bridges ever built to cross the $2 billion barrier. It is set to open on the 29th of October 2015, with construction being completed in just over 2 years, and is part of a projected 260 kilometers long motorway.
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5. Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
Cost of Bridge: $2.45 billion
One of the oldest bridges on this list, the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge was opened in 1964, after a construction period of 5 years. It is located in the State of New York, connecting Brooklyn with Staten Island. At the time of its construction and for years afterward, it was considered to be the longest suspension bridge in the world.
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4. Eastern span replacement of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge
Cost of Bridge: $6.5 billion
After the Eastern part of the San Francisco, Oakland Bay Bridge, suffered damage in the Loma Prieta Earthquake, which occurred back in 1989, it was replaced by a self-anchored suspension bridge. The bridge is currently, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, the widest bridge in the world.
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3. Akashi-Kaikyō Bridge
Cost of bridge: $7.3 billion
The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, located in Kobe, Japan took a decade to be built and cost an incredible $5 billion. The bridge is used by 23,000 cars daily. The bridge came into being after storms sunk two ferries which were otherwise used to cross the strait, killing 168 people. The outrage convinced the government to build a suspension bridge.
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2. Øresund Bridge
Cost of bridge: $7.87 billion
The Oresund bridge spans two countries, connecting Denmark and Sweden. It is the longest rail and road bridge in the continent of Europe. It was awarded the outstanding structure award in 2002 by the International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering. The bridge is nearly 8 kilometers long, and can accommodate 17,000 cars. The bridge was opened in 2000, after a construction period of four years.
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1. Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project
Cost of Bridge: $68.55 billion
Deserving of the number one spot in the 9 most expensive bridges ever built, the cost of all the other bridges on this list combined doesn’t come close to comparing with the Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project in Japan. It consists of 3 major expressways, each with its own bridge systems, and was opened in 1999.
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