Confederation Bridge

Canada's Confederation Bridge is not simply a marvel of Canadian engineering, it's also one of the 20th century's greatest engineering achievements. It's an 8-mile long behemoth. So, while it's not super high, it's one of the world's longest bridges. The 2-lane bridge (called Pont de la Confédération in Canada) spans across the Abegweit Passage of Northumberland Strait, linking Prince Edward Island with mainland New Brunswick. The controversial bridge even required a Constitutional Amendment to allow for its construction. Reportedly, the bridge is the world's longest that crosses ice-covered water. It's a "multi-span beam bridge with a post-tensioned concrete box girder structure" and it cost $1.3 billion to build. The speed limit for crossing the bridge is 50 mph and it'll take you about 12 minutes to cross it. And it's pretty damn sexy. It took four years to build and 5,000 workers to complete the curved bridge. In fact, the bridge was actually built on land, and then each piece was lifted into place.  In 1997 it officially opened. 75,000 people participated in a "Bridge Walk" and "Bridge Run" to commemorate it's grand opening. After the bridge was built the local GDP rose 5%. It's had a significant impact on tourism. Unfortunately many of the smaller, locally-owned, independent shops were forced out of business by the big box chains that moved in, such as Walmart, Home Depot and Staples.