Badong Yangtze River Bridge

Badong Yangtze River Bridge
巴东长江大桥
Badong, Hubei, China
482 feet high / 147 meters high
1,273 foot span / 388 meter span
2004

As the closest upstream bridge to China’s famous 3 Gorges dam, the Badong Yangtze River cable stayed bridge crosses over a section of the 3 Gorges reservoir about 500 feet (152 meters) deep. Stretching 373 miles (600 kms) from the dam to the city of Chongqing, this massive body of water has resulted in the construction of dozens of new bridges large and small including 5 of the world’s 11 highest reservoir bridges. China is home to 9 of the world’s 10 highest reservoir bridges.

Badong Yangtze bridge consists of two planes of cables connected to a concrete A-frame tower with a main span of 1,273 feet (388 meters). The highest of the two massive pylons measures 715 feet (218 meters) from the foundation to the “silver ball”.