The Kurushima Kaikyō Bridge (来島海峡大橋), which connects the island of Ōshima to the main part of Shikoku, was the world's longest suspension bridge structure when completed, in 1999. The bridge is part of the Shimanami Kaidō, an expressway that spans a series of islands and connects Hiroshima Prefecture in Honshū to Ehime Prefecture in Shikoku. The bridge and the expressway were both conceived by the Honshū-Shikoku Bridge Project.

Construction

The Kurushima Kaikyō Bridge consists of three successive suspension bridges with six towers and four anchorages. There is a shared anchorage that joins each suspension bridge to the next. Its construction is similar to the western portion of San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge which is two successive suspension bridges with four towers and one shared anchorage. The bridge's total length of 4015 m, is just a little longer than the total length of the two tower Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, which is 3911 m.