We’ll Get Over It A Bridge Too Far

Russia’s Yugra Bridge held the record for the longest single-pylon cable-stayed bridge from 2000, but 26 years later Taiwan has taken the top spot with the Danjiang Bridge. The structure stretches 920 metres across the Tamsui River, with a record 450-metre main span. It links major highways on both sides of the river between Bali District and New Taipei City and is expected to reduce traffic on the existing Guandu Bridge, 5 km upstream, by 30%. It feels like a slight letdown that a record-breaking feat of engineering can be reduced to a percentage-point improvement in traffic. Imagine if that were how we talked about the pyramids: “Gargantuan coffin designed to last millennia expected to house one dead monarch on completion.”

The bridge sits in a seismically active region, so it was designed to withstand a magnitude-seven earthquake and continue supporting emergency operations after even stronger shaking. State-of-the-art sensors monitor forces such as wind, cable stress and structural integrity. A 200-metre concrete mast forms the centrepiece of the bridge. Using a single mast helps preserve views of the sunset over the Tamsui estuary for nearby residents. Sunsets will always be more important than getting home from work safely, sorry. The primary structure was completed in late 2025, and the bridge opened to traffic on 12 May 2026. The project was 30 years in the works, which is about how long I expect an Auckland working group to spend deciding what to do about the Harbour Bridge.