Longest masonry arch bridge span

What to remember

Well-cut stones can almost stand without mortar, as at the Pont du Gard aqueduct: that is the spirit of masonry arch bridges in stone or brick, some of which last a thousand years. The Danhe Bridge, opened in 2001 in Jincheng, Shanxi, reaches a span of 146 m, or 479 feet, the longest for a masonry bridge.

Its deck is concrete. The rules are strict: the load-bearing part of the arch must be cut stone, brick or unreinforced concrete. Arches with a reinforced concrete core simply faced with decorative stone are left out.

In a closed spandrel stone arch bridge, the hollow space can be filled with rubble. If it is filled with concrete instead, that filling bears load too, on top of the ring of voussoirs.