The 5 Longest Bridges In Africa

 

Africa is a big continent that has developed greatly over the years. These are bridges that have broken records as the longest bridges in the continent. Nigeria’s very own third mainland bridge, held the record of the longest bridge in Africa until the year 1996, when a bridge was built in Egypt that’s longer than Third Mainland Bridge. This is the list of the longest bridges in Africa.

 

 

(5) DONA ANA BRIDGE

The Dona Ana Bridge is not a bridge that was built for cars but trains. It is a rail ridge that was built across the massive Zambezi River in Mozambique. This bridge covers a distance of 3.67km and it connects the towns of Murata and the Vila de Sena. This bridge was completed in the year 1934.

 

3.67 kilometres (2.28mi) long is the lenght of Dona Ana Bridge. This was the longest railway bridge in Africa back then. This bridge was built by the Portuguese in the year 1934 during the Portuguese rule over Mozambique, the bridge became unusable in the 1980’s, during the Civil war.

 

The bridge was repaired and turned into a single lane for cars, but the bridge was closed to vehicular traffic in the month of October 2006 for rehabilitation and then it was reconverted to a rail bridge. The bridge was re-opened in the year 2009. In the year 2017, the bridge underwent renovation, particularly the pedestrian lane which is used by over 3000 people daily.

 

(4) MOZAMBIQUE ISLAND BRIDGE

Mozambique Island Bridge is located in the island of Mozambique. It is a 3.8km bridge that crosses over the Indian Ocean and connects the Mozambique Island to the mainland. They completed the bridge in the year 1969.

 

In the month of July 2004, a construction was done to rehabilitate the bridge with a budget of $9 million. They installed a lighting system on the bridge, in the year 2015.

 

(3) SUEZ CANAL BRIDGE

The Suez Canal bridge is located in the El Qantara of Egypt. It covers a distance of 3.9km and connects Africa and Asia together. People also call this bridge the Shohada 25th January Bridge.

 

This bridge has so many names , it is known as the Mubarak Peace Bridge, and also known as the Egyptian-Japanese Friendship Bridge, the Al Salam Bridge or the Al Salam Peace Bridge.

 

(2) THIRD MAINLAND BRIDGE

The third mainland bridge, also known as the Ibrahim Babangida bridge, is an 11.8km bridge in Lagos, Nigeria. This bridge was opened in the year 1990, and it is one of the bridges that connects Lagos island to Lagos mainland.

 

This bridge starts from Oworoshoki, which is linked to Apapa-Oshodi expressway, and Lagos Ibadan expressway, and it ends in the Adeniji Adele interchange on Lagos Island. There’s also a link midway through the bridge that leads to Herbert Macaulay Way, Yaba. This bridge was built by Julius Berger Nigeria PLC. The phase one of this bridge project was commissioned by President Ibrahim Babangida, who completed the bridge in year 1990.

 

In the year 2006, many commuters complained that the third mainland bridge was vibrating, they cried for an urgent attention on the bridge. The government started renovations of different portions of the bridge, they completed this job in the year 2015. Recently, there were rumours that the bridge is cracking, but the constructors have denied this.

 

(1) 6TH OCTOBER BRIDGE

The 6th October Bridge is located in Cairo, Egypt. This is a highway that is 20.5km long (almost twice the length of third mainland bridge. The bridge was built across the Nile River and completed in year 1996.

 

It is this bridge that connects the city to the Cairo International Airport. The construction of this bridge took about 30 years.

 

It’s Moharram Bakhoum, that did the traffic planning, bridge design, and construction supervision of this bridge. The ‘6th October Bridge and Flyover’ runs from the Agricultural Museum Dokki East to the Autostrade in Nasr City.