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Akashi Kaikyo
Location: Kobe-Naruto, Japan
Year: 1998
Main span: 1,991 meters
The longest suspension span on earth (as of 2004) also has the tallest towers. A 1995 earthquake struck while the bridge was under construction, moving the towers apart by almost three feet. Engineers altered the roadway plans to accommodate the change. (Learn more)

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Great Belt East
Location: Halsskov-Sprogoe, Denmark
Year: 1998
Main span: 1,624 meters
Denmark's biggest building project connected the nation's two main islands, Zealand and Funen. The bridge helped cut average travel times across the body of water known as the Great Belt from 90 minutes, via ferry, to 10-15 minutes on the bridge. (Learn more)

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Humber
Location: Hull, England
Year: 1981
Main span: 1,410 meters
This bridge spans the Humber River in East Yorkshire, near the site of an ancient Roman ferry service that operated around 70 A.D. Construction took longer than expected, but Queen Elizabeth II presided over the opening in July 1981. (Learn more)

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Golden Gate
Location: San Francisco, CA, USA
Year: 1937
Main span: 1,280 meters
This bridge's opening day program bragged that the structure was the world's first "to span the outermost entrance to a great harbor." The bridge, painted a glowing color called international orange, boasts a striking Art Deco design. (Learn more)

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George Washington
Location: New York, NY, USA
Year: 1931
Main span: 1,067 meters
New Yorkers' "Gee-Double-Yew-Bee" spans the Hudson River with two decks, to accommodate nearly 106 million crossings per year. The original plans for cladding the bridge in stone and concrete were scrapped when authorities saw and appreciated its stark, lovely steel skeleton. (Learn more)

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Mackinac Straits
Location: Mackinaw City, MI, USA
Year: 1957
Main span: 1,158 meters
Residents first proposed a bridge or tunnel connecting Michigan's Upper and Lower Peninsulas in the 1880s, after year-round ferry service proved impossible in the cold weather. Seven decades later, engineers generated 85,000 blueprints and 4,000 engineering drawings for the bridge called the Mighty Mac. (Learn more)