We Cross That Bridge When We Come to It Quiz

Answer: Verrazano-Narrows Bridge

The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge joins Staten Island to the borough of Brooklyn on Long Island across 'The Narrows' that connect the relatively calm 'upper bay' with the large 'lower bay' of New York Harbor. Construction began in 1959 and the bridge opened just over five years later, in November 1964. Three men died during the construction work.
The double-decked suspension bridge carries almost 200,000 vehicles a day in twelve traffic lanes (six on each level). Car drivers pay a $15 toll to cross westbound (into Brooklyn), and charges are higher for larger vehicles.
When the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary 2 was built in 2003, she was given a flatter funnel specifically to enable her to pass under the bridge -- she clears it by just 13 feet at high tide.

Answer: Prague, Czech Republic

Named for King Charles IV, who instigated construction of the bridge, Charles Bridge crosses the Vltava River in the center of Prague. 31-feet wide and 1,692 feet from end to end, the bridge is constructed from Bohemian sandstone. Until 1841, it was the only way across the river (other than by boat), so it provided a vital link between the medieval 'Old Town' district of the city and Prague Castle, the world's largest ancient castle.

Answer: Arno

The 150-mile long Arno River is the most important in Tuscany. Rising at almost 4,000 feet on Mount Falterona in the Arezzo region of the Apennine Mountains in Central Italy, it flows more-or-less due west before eventually emptying into the Ligurian Sea. Ponte Vecchio, a 276-foot long closed-spandrel segmental stone arch bridge, crosses the Arno in Florence at its narrowest point.

A bridge has crossed the river here since Roman times, but many of the early constructions were swept away by floods.

The current bridge dates back to the 14th Century. Merchants have always traded on the bridge, setting our their wares on tables in front of their shops. The term 'bankruptcy' is said to originate here -- if a merchant could not pay his debts, soldiers physically broke his table ('banca rotta') and without a table, he would then be unable to trade.

Answer: Bangkok, Thailand

'Guinness World Records' named the Burapha Withi Expressway (also known as the Bang Na Expressway) as the world's longest road bridge. Indeed, it was the world's longest bridge of any sort until the 50-mile long Weinan Weihe Grand Railway Bridge in China opened in 2008.

The expressway is elevated onto a viaduct that is carried by a 75-foot wide box-girder bridge. The span widens to accommodate twelve lanes of traffic at the two toll plazas, one at each end. The Burapha Withi Expressway carries traffic from the outskirts of Bangkok to Chonburi on the Gulf of Thailand.

Many tourists stay on the expressway only for the first ten miles, where there is an exit for Suvarnabhumi Airport, the main gateway in and out of Thailand for many. Other continue to the coast and then on to the popular vacation destination of Pattaya.

Answer: Louisiana

Technically a viaduct, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway (also known just as The Causeway) comprises two parallel bridges that cross Lake Pontchartrain from Mandeville LA to the New Orleans suburb of Metairie LA. Listed by 'Guinness World Records' since 1969 as the world's longest bridge over water, the opening of the longer Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in China in 2011 seemed to end The Causeway's run.

However, the category was split into two with the Chinese bridge listed as having the longest aggregate span over water with the New Orleans structure still leading the world with the longest continuous span.

Answer: 1770s

Local iron ore was first smelted in the village of Coalbrookdale in 1709, but it was to be more than half a century before costs were low enough to tackle a project as large as bridging the River Severn. Work began in 1775 and a total of 379 tons of iron (at a cost of £7/ton) were used during the four-year project. The bridge was officially opened on New Year's Day 1781.
Ironbridge Gorge was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986.

Answer: Rome

Originally called Pons Aelius (or Aelian Bridge), meaning 'Bridge of Hadrian', Ponte Sant'Angelo was built across the River Tiber in Rome to link the centre of the city with the Emperor's own newly-constructed mausoleum. Once the tallest building in Rome, The Mausoleum of Hadrian is today better known as Castel Sant'Angelo ('Castle of the Holy Angel' in English). Built between 123 and 139 AD, it has been used by Popes as a fortress and is now a museum. Traffic across the bridge is now limited to pedestrians.

Answer: Moselle

The Roman colony at Trier dates back to the 1st Century and eventually developed into a major town and, by the end of the 3rd Century, one of the capitals of the Tetrarchy. Many of the Roman-era structures remain, including the Cathedral of St. Peter and Church of Our Lady and the 9-pillar Roman Bridge across the Moselle River.
The Roman Monuments of Trier were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1986.

Answer: Vasco da Gama

Ponte Vasco da Gama is a cable-stayed bridge that carries six lanes of traffic across the Tagus from Sacavém on the right bank to the Municipality of Alcochete on the left bank. Construction began in February 1995 and the bridge opened three years later just in time for Expo '98 World's Fair, which celebrated the 500th anniversary of the discovery of the sea route to India by Vasco da Gama.

Answer: Japan

The Akashi Kaikyô Bridge has a total length of 12,831 feet but it is its central span, at 6,532 feet, that makes it a record breaker. Part of the main Honshu-Skikoku Highway, the bridge connects Iwaya on Awaji Island and the city of Kobe on Honshu across the Akashi Strait, part of the Inland Sea. The photograph shows the bridge at night, when it is lit by 1,737 lights.