Unconventional Bridges Around the World

Aiola Island Bridge, Austria: We've usually thought of bridges to just be a connecting channel over water between places, but a New York Artist, Vito Acconci took the Aiola bridge to a different level. He carved out an island that has a sunbathing area, a trendy bar, a coffee house, and a pathway to crossing the Mur river in Graz, Austria. An ingenious invention that earns it a spot on the world's unconventional bridges.

Magdeburg Water Bridge, Germany: This bridge is almost an oxymoron. Bridges are usually created for cars and train, but this bridge is a water bridge and the largest water bridge in Europe. It was created for river barges to navigate the Elbe river without the unpredictable delays that sometimes occur on this river. It took over a century to complete this bridge and it now serves as a connector between two very important shipping canals; the Elbe Haven Canal and the Midland Canal.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, Virginia USA: The Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is one of the eight bridge tunnel systems in the world. It is about 23miles long and combines both a bridge and a tunnel for passing through the Chesapeake Bay to connect with the metropolitan Hampton Roads, Virginia and other parts of the Northeast. More importantly, this tunnel was created to protect the U.S. Naval base in Norfolk during wartime. If the bridge was to be destroyed, it would not hamper the movement of the Navy and they would still get to where they need to be without the bridge.

London Bridge, Lake Havasu Arizona: This bridge poked my interest because of the rigor of building it. This is the bridge that made the song "London bridge is falling down" common. It was originally erected in London over the Thames River, but it became too small to accommodate all the demands put on it. The Bridge was eventually put up for auction and bought by Rober McCulloch, the founder of Lake Havasus City. Each brick was numbered one by one and it took 3 years to move the bridge piece by piece from London to Lake Havasus Arizona where the London Bridge now sits. If you never got a chance to see the London Bridge in London, you can now see it in Arizona.

Ponte Vecchio, Florence Italy: This Bridge is the oldest and most famous wholly stone built, closed, and segmental arch bridge in Europe. This bridge was home to a lot of medieval merchants and butchers, but now is occupied mostly by hawkers, souvenir shops and art shops.

The above are definitely not all the unconventional bridges in the world, they are representative of some of a whole and speak volume of what the minds of people can conceive and create. Now it's your turn to vote for the best bridge of the five in your comments.