Chinese cable-stayed bridge, the world’s longest, wins engineering award

Sutong Bridge in Nantong City, Jiangsu Province, China has won the 2010 outstanding civil engineering achievement award sponsored by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The Sutong Bridge, which spans the Yangtze River in China’s Jiangsu province, is the world’s longest cable-stayed bridge.

With a main span measuring 1,088 meters, it is the first cable-stayed bridge with a span that passes the 1,000 meter mark. The bridge also has two side-spans that are 300 meters, as well as four smaller cable spans.

The bridge provides a vital link between the cities of Suzhou and Nantong in Jiangsu province. It dramatically reduces the journey between Suzhou and Nantong—which used to require a four-hour ferry trip—to just an hour.

In addition to its record-setting length, the bridge’s construction included a number of significant achievements. Its two pylon foundations—each founded on 131 piles, were the largest ever attempted, and, the 300 meter bridge pylons were the tallest ever constructed. Additionally, the 577 meter long stayed cables were the longest ever manufactured.