Ōnaruto Bridge

About

The Ōnaruto Bridge (Ōnaruto-kyō, lit. "Great Naruto Bridge") is a suspension bridge that carries 4 lanes of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway connecting Minamiawaji, Hyogo on Awaji Island with Naruto, Tokushima on Ōge Island, Japan. Completed in 1985, it has a main span of 876 metres (2, 874 ft). Although it is one of the largest bridges in the world, it is dwarfed by the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge, which is on the same route. In 2004, 6.8 million cars and trucks crossed this bridge, translating into a daily average of about 18,600. The bridge is complemented by the Konaruto Bridge ("Small Naruto Bridge") and Muya Bridge between Ōge Island and Shikoku. When the bridge was built, space was left for the proposed Shikoku Shinkansen; however, no progress has been made on the train line, so the space intended originally for the bullet trains is used as an observatory to see the Naruto whirlpools beneath the bridge.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.