bridge

The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing in California has been years in the making, with the aim of reducing wildlife deaths on the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills

While global temperatures dipped in 2025, fears persist over the continuing effects of global warming and climate change on communities worldwide.

Wildlife remains a major cause for concern, with countless species under threat from shifting habitats and deteriorating environmental conditions.

Yet despite these obstacles, many organisations and campaigners are striving to create safer conditions for animals across the globe. One method involves building infrastructure that enables wildlife to move around, or safely across, man-made barriers.

The Wallis Annenberg Wildlife Crossing stands out as a leading example. Currently under construction northwest of Los Angeles, it will become the world’s largest animal crossing once completed.

The £68 million megaproject is being built over the 101 Freeway in Agoura Hills and has been decades in the planning,reports the Express.

Work finally began on site in early 2022, with expectations that the bridge would open in early 2026. However, that launch date has now been pushed back to November 2026, according to KTLA 5. The delay has been blamed largely on the weather, with storms battering the region and causing significant setbacks.

Beth Pratt, a spokesperson for the project, said: “[The storms] caused us to have to redo work as this occurred when contractors were constructing the massive supports and doing the groundwork around them, which required much soil compaction. They had to redo this multiple times because of the muddy mess.”

However, while the scheme’s completion has been delayed by almost a year, there is optimism that its benefits for local wildlife will remain intact, with projections suggesting it will dramatically reduce the number of animals killed by vehicles.

A comparable crossing on Interstate 80 near Salt Lake City in Utah is reported to have cut animal-to-vehicle collisions by 77 per cent.

Beth, who also serves as California’s regional director for the National Wildlife Federation, added: “We found solutions … we knew we had to find a way because failing wasn’t an option. The future of the area wildlife was at stake, and we could not let this mountain lion population go extinct on our watch.”

The bridge is named after Wallis Annenberg, a philanthropist who was instrumental in the project and who died last year at the age of 86.

In addition to supporting environmental causes, Wallis was a passionate advocate for science and education initiatives. In a statement released to the Los Angeles Times following her death, her family said: “Wallis transitioned peacefully and comfortable this morning to her new adventure.

“Cancer may have beaten her body but it never got her spirit. We will hold her and her wisdom in our hearts forever.”

The 8-kilometre bridge is crossed by about 70,000 people each day

For more than 24 years, the 8-kilometre Øresund Bridge has served as a crucial link between Sweden and Denmark, providing a combined railway and motorway connection across the Øresund strait.

The bridge, a joint venture between Swedish firm Svedab and Danish company A/S Øresundsforbindelsen, makes up half of the journey from Sweden to the Danish Island of Amager.

Beginning near the city of Malmo on the Swedish coast, it extends to the man-made Danish Island of Peberholm, situated in the middle of the strait.

From Peberholm, a tunnel completes the remaining journey to the island of Amager, where Copenhagen airport is located, bringing the total distance travelled to around 16 km.

Construction on the bridge began in 1995, and it officially opened its lanes to traffic in July 2000. Just two years later, it was recognised with the IABSE Outstanding Structure Award, reports the Mirror.

Peberholm acts as a junction between the tunnel and the bridge.

It’s fitted with a motorway exit, restricted to authorised vehicles only, and a helicopter pad for use in emergencies.

The bridge, which sees an average daily footfall of 70,000 people, came with a hefty price tag of around £3.4 billion. The cost is expected to be recouped by 2037.

Crossing fees vary depending on the type of vehicle. Motorcyclists are charged £25.68, passenger cars £50.77, and vans, motorhomes or passenger cars with a trailer pay a staggering £178.55.

The Øresund Bridge claims the second spot as the longest bridge in Europe, only outdone by the 18.1km Kerch Bridge.

The latter spans the Kerch Strait, linking the Taman Peninsula of Krasnodar Krai in Russia and the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea.

The Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge is a 102-mile railway viaduct in China, connecting two of the country’s largest cities, and is the longest bridge in the world

The world’s longest bridge spans over 100 miles and takes travellers two hours to traverse. The colossal Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge is a railway viaduct in China and links two of the nation’s major cities.

Situated between Shanghai and Nanjing, the bridge forms part of the bustling Beijing-Shanghai High-Speed Railway route. Work on the bridge commenced in 2006 and was completed five years later at a staggering cost of $8.5 billion (£6.4billion).

This translates to an approximate expenditure of $51 million (£38.6million) per mile of the route.

Not only is the bridge a national icon, but it was also constructed to safeguard the land beneath it, a region abundant with rivers and rice fields. For most of its length, the renowned bridge runs parallel to China’s Yangtze River.

Due to its proximity to the river, the bridge was designed to mimic its natural curvature, resulting in an unusual shape. The Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge also spans the breathtaking waters of Yangcheng lake for just over five miles, reports the Express.

Prior to the bridge’s construction, train journeys between Ningbo and Jiaxing would take four and a half hours. However, thanks to this new architectural marvel, the journey now takes merely two hours, offering passengers spectacular views along the way.

The bridge has now revolutionised travel, making it possible to cover the 1,000 kilometres (621 miles) between Beijing and Shanghai in just 4 hours and 48 minutes. Despite China’s susceptibility to severe weather events, a number of safety measures were incorporated into the bridge during its construction.

Experts have confirmed that the bridge was constructed to the highest anti-seismic standards, ensuring it can withstand earthquakes. Moreover, the viaduct is also designed to endure collisions from the numerous ships that traverse beneath the bridge daily.

Not only has this new transport link significantly boosted the area’s productivity, but it has also become somewhat of a landmark. Thanks to the Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge’s status as a record-breaking structure, tourists often seek out the bridge as an attraction.

The Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge isn’t the only incredible architectural feat produced by China in recent years.

The world’s highest bridge was recently opened in Guizhou province. The Huajiang Grand Canyon Bridge has slashed journey times from two hours down to just two minutes, according to local state media.

It boasts an incredible deck-to-surface measurement of 625 metres – more than half a kilometre – making it tower above the previous record holder.

The world’s longest suspension bridge is currently in Turkey but a new record could be held if the government in Italy gets its way with its hugely ambitious Messina Bridge project

The world’s longest suspension bridge has been given the green light – and it could prove hugely popular with Brits. Just four months ago, the Italian government’s plans to build the longest suspension bridge in the world was approve. It would connect the mainland region of Calabria to Sicily.

However, a lot can happen in that time. The controversial Messina Bridge project, which would cost a staggering £11.7bn, faced a huge stumbling back last month, meaning it is once again on hold. But more on that shortly.

If the bridge ever gets built along the Strait of Messina, as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni still intends, it would be a hugely ambitious infrastructure challenge that has been talked about in Italy for decades.

The colossal bridge, consisting of two towers stretching 400-metres (1,300 feet), would span an incredible 3.3km (2.05 miles). Three lanes of traffic would sit either side of two railway lines in the middle.

It would be particularly welcomed by Brits travelling in Italy, because it would cut their journey to Sicily to just ten minutes, compared to taking the ferry, which can take a lot longer than the 30 minutes crossing when you factor in the immense queuing at peak times.

Speaking earlier this year, Meloni said: “It is not an easy task but we consider it an investment in Italy’s present and future, and we like difficult challenges when they make sense.”

Transport minister Matteo Salvini spoke in August that the goal was to have it built between 2032 and 2033. He also boasted that 120,000 jobs a year would be created, something he said would bring economic growth to the poor regions of Sicilia and Calabria, which is on the tip of Italy’s boot.

Rome was given the approval for the project in August after years of the plans being scrapped. One of the biggest reasons plans have been halted historically was concerns of mafia fraud, including worries about taxpayers’ money being siphoned off by the Sicilian and Calabrian gangsters.

Other concerns have repeatedly been raised about environmental damage, cost and safety, and given the region is one of the most seismically active areas in the Mediterranean, designers promised the Strait of Messina Bridge would be able to withstand earthquakes.

However, last month, yet another setback was reported, after an Italian court ruled the bridge would go against EU environmental and tender rules.

The Court of Auditors ruling concluded: “The assumptions regarding the various ‘reasons of public interest’ are not validated by technical bodies and are not supported by adequate documentation.”

But the Italian government is refusing to give up and has vowed to review the ruling carefully and continue with its ambitions of making the bridge a reality.

As well as still having to convince the Italian Court of Auditors and both national and EU environmental agencies, there would also be pushback from the 4,000 residents who live either side of the Strait.

Their homes would be at risk of demolition and this could mean legal challenges regarding having to abandon their properties.

As it stands, the current world’s longest suspension bridge is the 915 Canakkale Bridge in Turkey – which connects Asia to Europe and takes six minutes to cross.

Construction across the passage of water (Dardanelles Strait) started in 2017 and it only became open to the public three years ago. Journey times have been cut by up to 93%.

This means 90-minute ferry trips can be avoided by using the bridge that starts in Gelibolu, Turkey, which is based on the European side of the country, to the Asian town of Lapseki.

The Seto Ohashi Bridge spans 13.1km, connecting Japan’s main islands of Honshu and Shikoku via five smaller islands. It took ten years to complete and is one of the most expensive bridges in history

A seemingly endless double-decker bridge links five islands whilst appearing to ‘soar into the sky’.

The two-tiered Seto Ohashi Bridge is a coastal landmark joining Honshu, Japan’s main island, to Shikoku set against the stunning Seto Inland Sea. Construction on the engineering wonder kicked off back in 1978 and the public were allowed over a decade later. Since then, it’s enabled millions to cross the Seto Inland Sea in just 20 minutes, slashing the previous ferry journey time of over an hour.

It’s not merely an engineering triumph. The bridge also draws in tourists. Bridge aficionados flock to vantage points like the Seto Ohashi Memorial Park to witness how the structure “soars both into the sky and distance”, as the Japanese tourist board describes it.

For those seeking a day trip, the park boasts gift shops, a rooftop viewing deck, Japanese gardens and a children’s playground. Visiting after dark offers even more breathtaking scenes as the bridge illuminates once dusk falls.

READ MORE: UK’s ‘lost Atlantis village’ that vanished overnight suddenly starts to re-appearREAD MORE: Tiny market town packed with independent shops has one of the UK’s best high streets

In pure statistics alone, Seto Ohashi is extraordinary. The complete length spans 13.1 kilometres (8.1 miles), with the longest section, the Minami Bisan-Seto Bridge, stretching 1,100m. The bridges accommodate two lanes of motorway traffic in each direction (Seto-Chūō Expressway) on the upper level and one railway line in each direction (Seto-Ōhashi Line) on the lower level.

The scheme took a decade to complete at a cost of US$7 billion (£5.3 billion), utilizing 3.646 million cubic meters of concrete and 705,000 tonnes of steel. The construction of the bridge also took a great human toll. Despite safety measures such as nets and ropes, 17 workers tragically lost their lives over the decade-long build. Today, it stands as the world’s longest combined railway and road bridge.

If you’re an admirer of grand architectural feats and fancy a trip to see the bridge, the simplest route is likely to fly into Tokyo and then catch a train to Okayama. You can get up close and personal with the bridge by train, bus or car. From Takamatsu and Okayama, hop on the JR Marine Liner. Buses to Memorial Park depart from Sakaide Station and take about 20 minutes.

There are several points of interest along the bridge that might catch your eye:

Seijima

Once an island, Seijima is now linked to Shikoku via a land bridge. It’s a quaint spot, home to around 500 people who continue to uphold cultural traditions and festivals, like the Daishi Market and the autumn festival. Seijima is renowned for its abundant sea bream fishing grounds. In fact, tourist companies used to run boat tours complete with geisha for visitors to witness the spectacle of fishermen hauling in their nets.

Shamijima

Similar to Seijima, Shamijima was once an island but became part of the mainland during a land reclamation project. Its picturesque beach has been recognised by the Ministry of the Environment as one of Japan’s top 100. Here, you’ll find the Seto Ohashi Memorial Park and stunning views of the bridge.

Ogoshi District

Nestled to the east of Sakaide City, the Ogoshi district is beautifully situated on the slopes of Goshikidai Mountain, overlooking the Seto Inland Sea. The area is a thriving hub for farming, particularly orange and lemon orchards. The Goshikidai Skyline, a route that meanders along the mountain’s plateau, offers breathtaking views of the Seto Inland Sea.

Kagawa Prefecture

Once you’ve journeyed south to Shikoku, you’ll find yourself in the vibrant Kagawa. There’s an abundance to see, discover and, not least, savour here. Kagawa Prefecture is renowned as the birthplace of a famous udon noodle. Sanuki udon, known for its chewy texture, is thicker than other noodles.