Akashi Kaikyō Bridge

The Akashi Kaikyō Bridge (明石海峡大橋 Akashi Kaikyō Ō-hashi^?), also known as the Pearl Bridge, has the longest central span of any suspension bridge in the world,^[2] at 1,991 metres (6,532 ft). It is located in Japan and was completed in 1998.^[1]

The bridge links the city of Kobe on the mainland of Honshu to Iwaya on Awaji Island by crossing the busy Akashi Strait. It carries part of the Honshu-Shikoku Highway.
 
The bridge is one of the key links of the Honshū-Shikoku Bridge Project, which created three routes across the Inland Sea.

Before the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge was built, ferries carried passengers across the Akashi Strait in Japan. This dangerous waterway often experiences severe storms and, in 1955, two ferries sank in the strait during a storm, killing 168 people. The ensuing shock and public outrage convinced the Japanese government to develop plans for a suspension bridge to cross the strait.

Two parks in proximity to the bridge have been built for tourists, one in Maiko (including a small museum) and one in Asagiri. Both are accessible by the coastal train line.

The Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Project is a system of bridges connecting the islands of Honshu and Shikoku across the Inland Sea of Japan, which were previously only connected by ferry. It consists of three major connections. The system consists of three expressways and their respective bridge systems.