Al-Firdan Railway Bridge

The longest swing bridge in the world spans the Suez Canal near Ismailia, Egypt. The location of the bridge provides a mini history in the challenges of spanning the canal in a troubled region. The first train bridge spanned the canal starting in 1918, but it was such a hindrance to canal traffic that it was removed after World War I. A second bridge—this time a swing bridge—was built in 1942, but removed after a steamship damaged it in 1947. A double swing bridge was built in 1954, but the war brought on by the Suez Crisis severed rail traffic across the canal. Yet another replacement bridge was completed in 1963, but it was destroyed during the Six-Day War in 1967. The current record-breaking bridge has stood in this location since 2001.

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