History
The bridge was envisioned to ease congestion between the quickly developing areas in southern Puxi, as well as to help cope with the traffic expected for Expo 2010. The Expo 2010 site was just to the east of the Lupu Bridge on the Puxi side, and on both sides of the bridge on the Pudong side.
Construction began in October 2000 using a cantilever method and temporary cable-stays. Over 35,000 tonnes of steel were used in construction. The bridge's arch was joined on October 7, 2002.
When the bridge was completed, it became the world's longest arch bridge, surpassing the earlier title holder, the New River Gorge Bridge.
An inauguration ceremony was held on June 27, 2003, featuring a group of runners, including Yao Ming, who were the first to cross the bridge. The bridge opened to vehicular traffic the next day.
In 2009, Lupu Bridge lost its title of the world's longest arch bridge to the Chaotianmen Bridge in Chongqing. The longest span of the Chaotianmen Bridge was only 2 metres (7 ft) longer, at 552 metres (1,811 ft).
The Lupu Bridge was one of the architectural centerpieces of Expo 2010 in Shanghai, as it formed part of the western boundary of the Expo site.
Read more about this topic: Lupu Bridge
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