516 Arouca Footbridge

516 Arouca Footbridge
Ponte 516 Arouca
Arouca, Aveiro, Portugal
(574) feet high / (175) meters high
1,693 foot span / 516 meter span
2020

Image by Andrea Fonso.

Located across the spectacular canyon of Portugal's Paiva River, the 516 Arouca Footbridge was the world's longest pedestrian bridge span with a tower to tower length of 516 meters. Later in 2020 the Baglung Parbat Footbridge in Nepal surpassed it with a span of 567 meters and then in 2022 it was surpassed by the Sky Bridge 721 in the Czech Republic and the Canillo Footbridge in Andorra. The Arouca suspension bridge is supported by two V-shaped concrete towers that are 35.5 meters tall and 32 meters wide. The 1.2 meter wide walkway is approximately 175 meters high.

The unique design combines elements of a pure Tibet-style footbridge with no towers and a sagging deck with a more conventional tower supported span with a flat deck. The V-shaped angling of the suspender cables may have been inspired by China's Zhangjiajie Glass Footbridge.

The 516 Arouca Footbridge connects the banks of the Paiva River in the vicinity of Cascata das Agueiras and the Throat do Paiva. A number of boardwalk steps descend to the bottom of the canyon. The project was co-financed by the ERDF PROVERE programme (European Regional Development Fund) - North 2020.

World's 30 Longest Footbridge Spans

1. Sky Bridge 721, Czech Republic - 721 meters

2. Tibetan Footbridge of Canillo, Andorra - 603 meters

3. Haizhaigou UFO Glass Footbridge, China - 600 meters

4. Gandaki Golden/Baglung Parbat, Nepal - 567 meters

5. 516 Arouca, Portugal - 516 meters

6. Wanjiazhai Dam, China - 500 meters

7. Charles Kunonen, Switzerland – 494 meters

8. Kushma Bungy, Nepal - (490) meters

9. Huangchuansanxia Glass, China - 460 meters

10. Rappbode Dam, Germany - 458 meters

11. Tianyundu Glass Footbridge, China - (450) meters

12. Daqingshan Glass Footbridge, China - 450 meters

13. Longguwan Glass Footbridge, China - (445) meters

14. Hongyagu Glass, China - 445 meters

15. Sochi Skybridge, Russia – 439 meters

16. Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass, China – 430 meters

17. Yinzuotianmeng, China – 420 meters

18. Ulleong Sogeumsan, South Korea - 404 meters

19. Highline 179, Austria – 402 meters

20. Mishima Grand, Japan – 400 meters

21. Kokonoe Otsurihashi, Japan - 390 meters

22. Ryujin, Japan - 375 meters

23. Skywalk Sattel, Switzerland - (374 meters)

24. Bega-Banduk, Nepal - 365 meters

25. Geierlay, Germany – 360 meters

26. Kushma-Mudhikuwa, Nepal - 359 meters

27. Baiheshanzhuang Footbridge, China - 358 meters

28. Bailihuang Glass Footbridge, China - 350 meters

29. Triveni Garas, Nepal - 350 meters

30. Bunwajorghat, Nepal - 350 meters

31. Shuiyuan Footbridge, China - 342 meters

Image by Andrea Fonso.

Image by Andrea Fonso.

516 Arouca Footbridge satellite image.

516 Arouca Footbridge location map.