World's Highest Bridge Soars 565 Meters Above A River Opens In China

The world's highest bridge known as the Beipanjiang Bridge opened to traffic in China on Thursday. It soars 565 meters (1,854 feet) above a river and connects two mountainous provinces of Yunnan and Guizhou.

The bridge could reduce the travel time by as much as three-quarters. It can cut travel times between Xuanwei in Yunnan to Shuicheng in Guizhou from more than four hours to around one. One commentator said that the said bridge was very convenient for people who want to travel between these two places.

The world’s new highest bridge just opened in China and we can’t stop marveling at ithttps://t.co/BRFg7PrEKU pic.twitter.com/3wzkPfSi93

— Loreto Bello Gude (@loretobgude) January 1, 2017

Yahoo reports that the Beipanjiang Bridge has been constructed for three years. It costs more than $146.7 million to build. The construction of the bridge was completed on Sep. 10, 2017. On the other hand, it was just opened for vehicular traffic before the year 2016 ended.

The Beipanjiang Bridge in China took 3 years to build, and cost $146.7 million. It's now the world's highest: https://t.co/1Z2qmQ985h — MarketWatch (@MarketWatch) December 31, 2016

The bridge is about 4,396 feet long and has four-lane roadway. It sits at almost 2,000 feet over the Beipan River. It is also part of the 2,115 mile Hangrui Highway that connects Hangzhou to the China-Myanmar border crossing Ruili. The bridge bested the 1,837-foot-tall Sidu River Bridge, which is the world record title before. The Sidu River Bridge is in the central province of Hubei.

Some of the world's highest bridges are situated in China. Meanwhile, the world's tallest bridge, gauged based in height and not in the distance to the ground, is the Millau viaduct in France at 343 meters, according to the Dawn. This bridge was also completed for three years and cost about €394 million or AU$415 million (US$484,698,800).