Lupu Bridge

The Lupu Bridge named after Luwan District, is a through arch bridge over the Huangpu River in Shanghai, China, connecting the city's Huangpu and Pudong districts. It is the world's third-longest steel arch bridge. The bridge has a total length including approach spans of 3,900 m and opened on June 28, 2003. The main bridge structure is 750m long including the two side spans of 100m each, and the main span of 550 meters over the Huangpu River is 32 meters. It cost 2.5 billion yuan (US$302 million), including US$78.04 for the main steel structure alone.

Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute created the Lupu Bridge. The North-South Elevated Road, one of the city's main elevated thoroughfares, has 6 lanes on the bridge, 3 in each direction. From Pudong, drivers can take on-ramps to the North-South Elevated Road that are located either westbound on Yaohua Road or northbound on Jiyang Road. In reality, the North-South Elevated Road comes to a stop right after the Lupu Bridge and becomes Jiyang Road, with an exit for Yaohua Road in the east.

Along the Huangpu River, the Lupu Bridge used to be a well-liked tourist destination. Since visitors could climb to the observation deck at the bridge's summit, the bridge itself doubled as an attraction. The Shanghai Climb attraction required visitors to take a fast elevator to the bridge's base and then ascend 367 steep stairs along the bridge's arch to reach the summit. At the bottom of the Puxi side of the bridge, on Luban Road, was the entrance to the attraction. During the Expo, the observation area offers fantastic views of Shanghai and the Expo 2010 site. Currently (March 5, 2016), the bridge is not open for public viewing.

Location: Shanghai, China
Architect: Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute