Several long bridges in Africa connect various places in their respective countries. The top five longest bridges in the continent are the 6th October Bridge, Third Mainland Bridge, Suez Canal Bridge, Dona Ana Bridge and Mozambique Island Bridge (in that order).
The Longest Bridges in Africa
6th October Bridge
6th October Bridge is the longest bridge in Africa with a length of 20,500 meters. It is located in central Cairo, Egypt and is a highway with an elevation. It crosses the Nile starting from the west bank suburbs and goes through the east and Gezira Island along to Downtown Cairo. Its final point connects the city to the Cairo International Airport towards the east.
The origin of the name comes from the start date of the Yom Kippur War in 1973. Construction for the bridge was a national infrastructure project that began in 1969 and took 30 years to finish. The bridge is the spinal cord of Cairo city since nearly 500,000 residents use it daily.
Third Mainland Bridge
Third Mainland Bridge is located in Nigeria and connects Lagos Island to the mainland with two other bridges, Carter Bridge and Eko Bridge. It has a length of 11,800 meters.
Oworonshoki marks the starting point of the bridge which goes through Apapa-Oshodi and Lagos-Ibadan. Its ending point is the Adeniji Adele. The bridge is very busy on weekdays and the high traffic makes it difficult for people to move to and from Lagos City.
Suez Canal Bridge
The Suez Canal Bridge is a road bridge that crosses the Suez Canal at El Qantara in Egypt. The bridge is 3,900 meters in length. It connects the African and Eurasia continents and the Japanese government assisted in the construction of the bridge.
The bridge has contributed to the development of the regions around the Suez Canal. The construction of the bridge was in conjunction with other projects including the Ahmed Hamdi Tunnel, the Suez Canal overhead power line crossing, and the El Ferdan Railway Bridge.
Dona Ana Bridge
The Dona Ana Bridge is the link between the two halves of Mozambique, spanning the lower Zambezi River in the middle of the Mutarara and Vila de Sena towns. Its length is 3,670 meters. The government of Portugal constructed the railway line from Dondo from Beira.
The bridge is an alternative route in the Zambezi. Originally, there were two options at Cala and Tete but they were not reliable at all times. The Dona Ana Bridge is also the longest bridge that crosses the Zambezi.
Mozambique Island Bridge
The Mozambique Island Bridge is also in Mozambique and has a length of 3,400 meters. It links the Island of Mozambique to the mainland through the Indian Ocean. The Island of Mozambique was initially the capital of the Portuguese East Africa colonial.
Conclusion
The top five longest bridges in Africa are located in Egypt, Nigeria, and Mozambique. Due to the transport facilitation they provide, all of the bridges have contributed to development in their respective countries.
