World’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge

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This article titled “World’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge opens in the Swiss Alps” was written by Will Coldwell, for theguardian.com on Wednesday 2nd August 2017 11.02 UTC

The world’s longest pedestrian suspension bridge has opened in Switzerland, inviting walkers to brave a narrow path running 86 metres above the ground at its highest point. The Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge, in the Swiss Alps, near the village of Randa, is a record-breaking 494 metres long and connects Grächen and Zermatt on the Europaweg foot trail.

A view of the Charles Kuonen Suspension Bridge from above

The bridge, which is a steel construction, runs between 1,600m and 2,200m above sea level, with views – if you can look at them – of the Matterhorn, Weisshorn and the Bernese Alps in the distance. It replaces a previous bridge that had been damaged by rock falls.

The bridge seen stretching across the landscape

Incredibly, it took engineers from Swissrope and Lauber cableways just 10 weeks to erect the bridge. The structure, which is just 65cm wide, takes 10 minutes to cross; a journey that previously took hikers four hours. It breaks a record previously set by a glass-bottomed suspension bridge completed last year in China. The 430 metre-long bridge traversed the vast Zhangjiajie Canyon in Hunan province, with a 300m drop beneath it.

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