The epic £295m bridge that's one of the world's longest—built to withstands earthquakes

The world’s longest asymmetric, single-mast bridge, which is also longer than the world’s tallest building, has been officially opened. The Danjiang Bridge in Taiwan, over the estuary of the Tamsui River, stretches around 3,018 feet and is longer than the height of Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.

It has also been already recognised as a major transportation project and a new urban symbol for Taiwan. The bridge is made up of a single-tower asymmetric cable-stayed design that reduces the number of bridge towers and minimises visual impact on the estuary landscape.

The vertical extension of the tower creates a new skyline focal point while balancing structural efficiency with landscape integration. The bridge was also built to combine engineering and architectural aesthetics.

Taiwan is located at the junction of the Eurasian Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate and experiences frequent earthquakes, and the bridge “also bears the heavy responsibility of maintaining a lifeline in the event of major disasters” in addition to its basic transportation functions, as explained on the bridge’s official website.

This project, the message on the website adds, “was designed and inspected to the highest standards suitable for the environmental conditions of the bridge site, in terms of seismic and wind resistance design, hydrological and hydrological analysis, and corrosion resistance and durability, all in accordance with the standards of large bridges around the world”.

The Danjiang Bridge is also designed to upgrade northern Taiwan’s transport network and ease traffic affecting local roads.

It links the eastern side of the river with other key routes on the western side, including Highway 15, the West Coast Expressway, and the Bali‑Xindian Expressway.

The opening of the bridge, designed by Zaha Hadid Architects, was marked by the Danjiang Bridge Together Arts Festival, which included walking events, parades, concerts, and immersive programmes that encouraged the public to use the bridge as a shared cultural space.

The bridge is estimated to have cost around NT$12.49 billion (some £295 million).