Bridges are built to facilitate land transport and make life easier for drivers. Projects involving artificial bridges are considered of the utmost importance both for local areas and for entire geographical divisions as they greatly facilitate movement.
In Greece, there are dozens of bridges and at one time or another, most of us have crossed some of them. But what are the longest bridges in the country? Below are the three biggest ones located in our country with the first one also holding… a world record.
1. Bridge of Rio – Antirio
At the top is the bridge of Rio – Antirrio, which is also the longest multi-span cable-stayed bridge in the world. Its total length reaches 2,252 meters and connects the Peloponnese with Central Greece. Its foundations are at a depth of 65 meters, while its resistance in the event of an earthquake reaches 7.4 on the Richter scale.
In total it is held by 368 wire “cables” while its cost reached 800 million euros. It was opened in 2004.
2. Bridge of Servia
In second place is the high bridge of Servia which is a part of the national highway Kozani – Larissa. It is 1,372 meters long and crosses the artificial lake Polyphytou. It was opened in 1975 and is 7 kilometers from the city of Kozani.
It should be noted that this particular one is one of the two bridges of the lake, as there is also a second one (Rymni bridge) but shorter with a length of 615 meters.
3. Evripos Bridge (Chalkidas)
The third longest bridge in Greece is the Evripou high bridge, otherwise known to most as the new bridge of Chalkida. It has a total length of 694.5 meters, and a width capacity of 12.5 meters.
The central part of the bridge, 395 meters long, is cable-stayed with a central span of 215 meters and lateral spans of 2×90 meters. It was opened in 1993 after 8 years of work. A characteristic of the bridge is the fact that it has protection even against the impact of ships.
Which is the biggest in the world?
For history, however, the longest bridge in the world that rests on 9,500 pillars is 38.5 kilometers long and is located in New Orleans, USA. It passes over Lake Pontchartrain and was opened to traffic in 1969.
