Highline 179 Footbridge

Highline 179 Footbridge
Reutte, Tyrol, Austria
374 feet high / 114 meters high
1,319 foot span / 402 meter span
2014

Opened in 2014, the spectacular Highline 179 Bridge is among the 10 longest span footbridges in Europe. It was once the longest span Tibet-style suspension bridge in the world before being surpassed by others in Nepal, Switzerland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Germany and China. The name comes from the bridge crossing over the famous route B179 that winds through and far beyond the borders of Tyrol, Austria. The location was chosen to allow easy access between the Ehrenberg Ruins and Fort Claudia.

The 1.2 meter wide deck is supported by four 60mm diameter cables that are held in place by 8 rock anchors to a depth of 17 meters. The foundation to foundation length is 424 meters with a clear span of 402 meters that can support up to 500 people at one time. The two abutments have an altitude difference of about 12 meters and a maximum cable sag of 20 meters at full load. This large, curving sag along the deck is part of what makes the Highline 179 special as it essentially allows the bridge engineers to avoid constructing any towers that are common on most conventional footbridges with a flat deck. Such drooping spans are common in the mountainous regions of Tibet where the higher slopes allow the center of the deck to cross a safe distance above the river surface. The Skywalk Sattel Footbridge in Switzerland and the Geierlay Footbridge in Germany are the 2nd and 3rd longest Tibet-style footbridges in the world.

Among all footbridges in the world, only 16 have a main span longer then the Highline 179. This world record footbridge span was commissioned by WLF Projekt in Austria and designed and built by STRABAG A, SwissRope, Armin Walch (architect) and Paul Nessler (structural engineer).

World's 40 Longest Footbridge Spans

1. Sky Bridge 721, Czech Republic - 721 meters

2. Skywalk Willingen, Germany – 665 meters

3. Yundingfeidu Glass Footbridge, China – 615 meters

4. Tibetan Footbridge of Canillo, Andorra - 603 meters

5. Haizhaigou UFO Glass Footbridge, China - 600 meters

6. Castelsaraceno Footbridge, Italy - 580 meters

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

8. 516 Arouca, Portugal - 516 meters

9. Wanjiazhai Dam, China - 500 meters

10. Charles Kunonen, Switzerland – 494 meters

11. Kushma Bungy, Nepal - (490) meters

12. Huangchuansanxia Glass, China - 460 meters

13. Rappbode Dam, Germany - 458 meters

14. Blackforestline of Todtnau, Germany - 450 meters

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

16. Daqingshan Glass Footbridge, China - 450 meters

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

18. Hongyagu Glass, China - 445 meters

19. Sochi Skybridge, Russia – 439 meters

20. Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon Glass, China – 430 meters

21. Yinzuotianmeng, China – 420 meters

22. Longguashan Footbridge, China – (410) meters

23. Chikhaldara Glass Skywalk, India - 407 meters

24. Ulleong Sogeumsan, South Korea - 404 meters

25. Highline 179, Austria – 402 meters

26. Mishima Grand, Japan – 400 meters

27. Kokonoe Otsurihashi, Japan - 390 meters

28. Nanjiang Gorge Glass Footbridge, China - (385 meters)

29. Jorullo ATV Bridge, Mexico - 380 meters

30. Ryujin, Japan - 375 meters

31. Skywalk Sattel, Switzerland - (374 meters)

32. Yunjian Glass Footbridge, China - (365 meters)

33. Bega-Banduk, Nepal - 365 meters

34. Geierlay, Germany – 360 meters

35. Kushma-Mudhikuwa, Nepal - 359 meters

36. Baiheshanzhuang Footbridge, China - 358 meters

37. Qingrengu Glass Footbridge, China - (355 meters)

38. Bailihuang Glass Footbridge, China - 350 meters

39. Triveni Garas, Nepal - 350 meters

40. Bunwajorghat, Nepal - 350 meters

41. Shuiyuan Footbridge, China - 342 meters

The tourist attraction is open everyday of the year. You can see more at their official website:

http://www.highline179.com/en/

Highline 179 Bridge render.

Highline 179 Footbridge satellite image.

Highline 179 Footbridge location map.