7 of the World's Most Controversial Bridges

Structures you'll hear everyone disagree about

7. The Peljesac Bridge, Croatia

A thing about Croatia is its shape which is, well, original. If you look at a map, it seems as if it not only has tried to eat all of Bosnia's coast but also comes split into two pieces! It was only thanks to this singularity that Bosnia retained a minuscule 10 km coastline on the Adriatic Sea… But then, just last year, Croatia inaugurated the Peljesac Bridge. This finally connected the two parts of Croatia and effectively landlocked Bosnia! Unsurprisingly, the Bosnians aren't happy about this and have fiercely opposed the project from start to finish. 

6. The Pont sur l'Oyapock, France & Brazil

On a lighter note, France's longest land border is not with Spain, let alone Germany - but with Brazil! This is thanks to the quite-significant French region of "Guyane" in, South America. Guyane is a heavily forested region with large rivers flowing along the borders with Suriname and Brazil. In the 1990s the French and Brazilian Governments decided to construct a bridge connecting the cities of Saint Georges and Oiapoque… The bridge was finalized in 2011 but only opened in 2017 when roads on the Brazilian side were finally completed. This road connects the neighboring Amazonian peoples and helps connect Guyane to the rest of the South American Continent. The only issue with the bridge, it seems, is the structure's severe isolation and the fact that, for the number of people using it, the previous ferry service just did the job!

5. Mostar Bridge, Bosnia

The parabola of the old bridge of Mostar is a masterpiece of architecture, which had resisted 450 years of conflict and bad weather up until… November 9, 1993, when it was destroyed by Serbia's rocket fire in the midst of the Balkan war. The bridge was a symbol of interaction and cooperation between the Serb and Croat communities that lived on either side of the river. After the end of the war, It was decided to rebuild the bridge as similar as possible to the original, using the same technology and material. The reconstructed bridge was opened on 23 July 2004, with the cost estimated to be over €15 million. A small price though if it means peace and reconciliation.

4. The Malacca Strait bridge, Indonesia & Malaysia

The idea of a suspension bridge connecting Malaysia with the Indonesian archipelago has been controversial from the start… Designed to be the world's longest link at 128 km! The project has been planned and canceled over and over again by both governments, mainly because of its massive cost. Yet the bigger issue with the bridge may well be environmental because, you see, the bridge threatens serious damage to the fragile ecosystem found in and around the strait. 

3. The Zubizuri Bridge, Spain

Constructed by the star of Spanish architecture, Santiago Calatrava, the bridge was regarded as a new icon for the city of Bilbao, along with the Guggenheim Art Gallery and the Salbe Zubia Bridge. The Zubizuri however, quickly became controversial with locals regularly skidding on the bridge's glass panels (Bilbao is a very rainy city) and with some even falling off the bridge and into the river! All this forced the council to permanently cover the glass tiles with a rugged outdoor carpet. 

2. The Peace Bridge, Ireland

This bridge is located in Derry, on the island of Ireland. It crosses the River Foyle, a 400-year-old physical and political divide between two communities: the Unionists, who wish to remain in the United Kingdom, and the Republicans, who wish to rejoin the country of Ireland. Designed by Wilkinson Eyre Architects in London and funded to the tune of £14 million by the European Regional Development Fund for Peace it is an impressive and elegant piece of architecture. 

1. The Kerch Bridge, Ukraine & Russia

The Kerch Bridge, which we all recently saw in flames, was built by the Russian Federation to connect mainland Russia to annexed Crimea back in 2018. The bridge is controversial for obvious reasons, built to cement Russian control of disputed territory, Crimea still being, in almost all the world's view, legally part of Ukraine…