Pearl Bridge - Akashi Kaikyo Bridge, Awaji, Hyogo, Japan
Akashi Kaikyo Bridge also known as the Pearl Bridge, links the city of Kobe on the mainland of Honshu to Iwaya on Awaji Island, in Japan. It crosses the busy Akashi Strait (Akashi Kaikyō in Japanese). It carries part of the Honshu-Shikoku Highway.
Since its completion, in 1998, the bridge has the longest central span of any suspension bridge in the world, at 1,991 metres (6,532 ft)
It is one of the key links of the Honshū-Shikoku Bridge Project, which created three routes across the Inland Sea.Before the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge was built, ferries carried passengers across the Akashi Strait in Japan. This dangerous waterway often experiences severe storms and, in 1955, two ferries sank in the strait during a storm, killing 168 people. The ensuing shock and public outrage convinced the Japanese government to develop plans for a suspension bridge to cross the strait. The original plan called for a mixed railway-road bridge, but when construction on the bridge began in April 1988, the construction was restricted to road only, with six lanes. Actual construction did not begin until May 1988, and the bridge was opened for traffic on April 5, 1998. The Akashi Strait is an international waterway that necessitated the provision of a 1,500-metre (4,921 ft)-wide shipping lane.