China Opens World’s Longest Bridge Over Water

The longest bridge over water in the world opened to traffic yesterday. China’s Jiaozhou Bay bridge links [somewhere in China] with [somewhere else in China]. More importantly, it connects these somewheres over a distance of more than 26 miles — making it about 2.5 miles longer than the previous title-holder, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, in Louisiana.

The bridge cost $1.5 billion to construct, unless you don’t trust China’s state-run CCTV, in which case it cost $2.3 billion to construct, unless you don’t trust the Xinhua news agency, in which case it cost $8.8 billion, unless you don’t trust the U.K.Telegraph, in which case you’re on your own.

China has broken quite a few infrastructure records lately. It now has the longest high-speed rail line in the world, five of the ten tallest towers in progress in the world, and plans for theworld’s largest city. In fact, writes Time, the Jiaozhou Bay bridge wasn’t even the longest bridge that opened in China yesterday. Or the second-longest. Or even third. Those honors belong to three overland bridges that opened as part of the Beijing-Shanghai railroad.