The ten suspension bridges with the longest main spans on Earth, ranked by the distance of roadway suspended between their towers.
Quick answer: 1. 1915 Çanakkale Bridge, 2. Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, 3. Nanjing Xianxin (Xinshengwei) Yangtze River Bridge, 4. Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge, 5. Nansha Bridge (East span), 6. Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge, 7. Xihoumen Bridge, 8. Great Belt Bridge (East Bridge), 9. Ningyang Yangtze River Bridge, 10. Osman Gazi Bridge.
These are the ten suspension bridges with the longest main spans in the world — the single stretch of roadway hung between a bridge's two main towers, which is the figure engineers use to rank a bridge's span. The list is a snapshot of the current record books, where China now holds six of the top ten and Turkey owns the world-record top spot.
The world's longest bridge span since it opened in 2022, crossing the Dardanelles in Turkey. Its 2,023 m main span was chosen to mark 2023, the centennial of the 1923 founding of the Turkish Republic.
Held the world span record from 1998 until 2022. It links Kobe on Honshu to Awaji Island across Japan's Akashi Strait.
Opened in late 2025 across the Yangtze at Nanjing. It is the longest suspension span in China and the third longest in the world.
Opened in 2019 in Wuhan, it is the world's longest double-deck suspension bridge, carrying road traffic on two levels.
Part of the Nansha crossing of the Pearl River, opened in 2019 in Guangdong province.
Opened in June 2024 as part of the Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link, it is the world's longest fully offshore steel box-girder suspension span.
Opened in 2009 in the Zhoushan archipelago. At completion it held the longest span in the world for its twin-box aerodynamic deck design.
Opened in 1998 across Denmark's Great Belt strait, it is the longest suspension span outside Asia.
Opened in 2025 across the Yangtze in Jiangsu, extending China's dominance of the longest-span rankings.
Opened in 2016 across the Gulf of Izmit, it is Turkey's second-longest suspension span after the 1915 Çanakkale Bridge.
| # | Name | country | year_opened | tower_height_m |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1915 Çanakkale Bridge | Turkey | 2022 | 334 |
| 2 | Akashi Kaikyo Bridge | Japan | 1998 | 298 |
| 3 | Nanjing Xianxin (Xinshengwei) Yangtze River Bridge | China | 2025 | 264 |
| 4 | Yangsigang Yangtze River Bridge | China | 2019 | 255 |
| 5 | Nansha Bridge (East span) | China | 2019 | 285 |
| 6 | Shenzhen-Zhongshan Bridge | China | 2024 | 270 |
| 7 | Xihoumen Bridge | China | 2009 | 211 |
| 8 | Great Belt Bridge (East Bridge) | Denmark | 1998 | 254 |
| 9 | Ningyang Yangtze River Bridge | China | 2025 | 226 |
| 10 | Osman Gazi Bridge | Turkey | 2016 | 252 |
Ranking metric: main span length in meters — the distance of suspended roadway between a bridge's two main towers. This is the standard engineering record-keeping figure for a bridge's span, and it is distinct from total bridge length (which includes approach spans). Inclusion is limited to completed, in-service suspension bridges; bridges under construction or of other structural types (cable-stayed, girder, arch) are excluded. Bridges are ranked longest main span first (rank 1 = longest). Figures are drawn from Wikipedia's list of longest suspension bridge spans — the primary community record-keeper — cross-checked against each bridge's own reference and, where available, operator or news sources.
The 1915 Çanakkale Bridge in Turkey has the world's longest main span at 2,023 meters. It opened in 2022, taking the record from Japan's Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, which had held it since 1998.
The 2,023 m figure was chosen deliberately to reference the year 2023, the centennial of the founding of the Republic of Turkey in 1923.
No. Main span measures only the roadway suspended between a bridge's two main towers — the standard engineering record for a bridge's span. Total bridge length also includes the approach spans on either side, so it is usually much longer and is measured separately.
China dominates the ranking with six of the top ten longest suspension spans, spread across the Yangtze River, the Pearl River delta, and the Zhoushan islands. Turkey holds two slots, including the world-record top spot.