The Millau Viaduct 14.12.2004

The Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed bridge that spans the valley of the River Tarn near Millau in southern France. It is the tallest bridge in the world with one mast's summit at 343.0 metres (1,125 ft) above the base of the structure. Designed by the British architect Norman Foster and French structural engineer Michel Virlogeux, it is the 21st highest bridge deck in the world, being 270 metres (890 ft) between the road deck and the ground below. 

The Millau Viaduct is part of the A75-A71 autoroute axis from Paris to Béziers and Montpellier. The cost of construction was approximately €400 million. It was formally inaugurated on 14 December 2004, and opened to traffic on 16 December. The bridge has been consistently ranked as one of the great engineering achievements of all time and received the 2006 International Association for Bridge and Structural Engineering Outstanding Structure Award.

The Pont d'Aquitaine 6.5.1967

The Pont d'Aquitaine is a large suspension bridge over the Garonne, north-west of the city of Bordeaux, in France. It forms part of the ring-road of Bordeaux and carries the A630 autoroute. It was completed in 1967 and its main span is 394 m (1,293 ft) long.

The eastern and western aspects of the bridge are dramatically different. To the east there is a ridge of land which allows the roadway to enter the bridge with little or no slope. By contrast, to the west there is an area of flat land, forming part of the Medoc, which means the roadway across the bridge slopes dramatically upwards in order to gain sufficient height to enter the bridge.

Thank you Merja.

Rochefort-Martrou Transporter Bridge 20.7.1968

Rochefort-Martrou Transporter Bridge is a transporter bridge built between 1898 and 1900 . It is located in Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, Poitou-Charentes, France. Crossing the Charente River, it has a maximum height of 66.5 metres (218 ft) and a total length of 175.5 metres (576 ft). It is a technical invention accomplished by a French engineer : Ferdinand Arnodin. It was abandoned in 1967 in favour of a vertical lift bridge, which was in turn demolished in 1991 a few months after the opening of a new dual-carriageway road bridge, the Martrou viaduct. However, the transporter bridge was refurbished by 1994 and is now a historical monument (1976). Crossing on foot or a bicycle is still possible today from April to the end of October.

Thank you Merja.

Bridges in Finland 23.10.2014

The October releases also include a 100-piece roll of stamps, and that to by popular demand, features more motifs than before: no fewer than 10 different 1st-class stamps. The stamps depict Finnish bridges and waterways in different times of the year and day, photographed by Jaakko Tähti.

The spectrum of bridges ranges from small arch bridges in parks to major traffic bridges. The bridges in the stamps have been photographed in the following locations: Jyväskylä, Punkalaidun, Pihtipudas, Tampere, Vaajakoski, Viitasaari, Porvoo, Säkylä, Raippaluoto and Kärnänkoski. The graphic design of the Bridges and Waters stamps comes from a duo of experienced designers, Ari Lakaniemiand Susanna Rumpu.

Thank you Ella for this very lovely FDC.

Opening of the West Gate Bridge in Melbourne 15.11.1978

Souvenir postal cover issued by Australia Post on 15 Nov 1978, to commemorate the official opening of the West Gate Bridge in Melbourne. Includes 20c "Little Grebe" stamp, a postal stamp incorporating official West Gate Bridge Authority logo and a stamp of an Australia Post mail van with the words the "First Official Mail Across West Gate".

The West Gate Bridge is a steel box girder cable-stayed bridge in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It spans the Yarra River, just north of its mouth into Port Phillip, and is a vital link between the inner city (CBD) and Melbourne's western suburbs; with the industrial suburbs in the west and with the city of Geelong, 80 kilometres (50 mi) to the south-west. It is one of the busiest road corridors in Australia.

The main river span is 336 metres (1,102 ft) in length, and the height above the water is 58 metres. The total length of the bridge is 2,582.6 metres (8,473.1 ft). It is the second longest in Australia behind the Houghton Highway and its twin the Ted Smout Memorial Bridge, and is twice as long as theSydney Harbour Bridge. It is one of the highest bridges in Australia, most notably trailing that of the more iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge.

The bridge passes over Westgate Park, a large environmental and recreational reserve created during the bridge's construction. The bridge carries up to 200,000 vehicles per day.

Thank you Maria.

Denmark 21.5.1985 - Farø Bridges

On 21^st May, 1985 Denmark issued this 2.80 kr stamp on the occasion of the Opening of the Farø Bridges. The Farø Bridges (Danish, Farøbroerne) are two road bridges that connect the islands of Falster and Zealand in Denmark by way of the small island of Farø which is approximately mid-way across the Storstrømmen sound. A smaller bridge from Farø provides access to Bogø and thence to the island of Møn.

The Farø Bridges were opened by Queen Margrethe II on 4 June 1985. They were built because of the increasing congestion problems on the old Storstrøm Bridge from 1937.

The high (south) bridge crosses Storstrømmen between Falster and Farø. It is a cable-stayed bridge. The bridge is 1726 metres long, the longest span is 290 metres, and the maximum clearance to the sea is 26 metres strung up on 95.14 meters high suspension towers, which was finished in 1984. It was one of the first cable-stayed bridge in Scandinavia (the first was the Strömsund Bridge). The two towers supporting the span are of 'diamond' shape construction, rising from a single point to either side of the roadway, then combining to one point above the centre of the bridge. There is only one row of suspension cables, along the centre of the roadway.
The low (north) bridge crosses Kalvø Strøm between Farø and Zealand. It is a beam bridge. The bridge is 1596 metres long, the longest span is 40 metres, and the maximum clearance to the sea is 20 metres.
Thank you Merja.

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge

U.S. 5¢ Verrazano-Narrows stamp honors the opening of the Verrazano-Narrows bridge – the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its completion. Bridging Staten Island and Brooklyn, it also links New England with the southeast section of the U.S. The bridge is named afterGiovanni da Verrazano, an Italian explorer who discovered the New York Bay in 1524. The stamp was issued at Staten Island, NY on November 21, 1964.

Giovanni da Verrazano and the Verrazano-Narrows. Born in Florence, Italy, Verrazano (1485-1528) moved to France in 1506, beginning his career as a navigator. In 1523, King Francis I of France invited him to explore the area between Florida and Terranova in search of a sea route through the recently discovered Americas to the Pacific Ocean.

Aboard the La Dauphine, he reached Cape Fear in March 1524 and made his way north to what is now known as New York Bay on April 17. There he met the Lenape, a group of Native Americans. He returned to France in July and later made two return trips to North America.

The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, named in the explorer’s honor, is a double-decked suspension bridge connecting Staten Island and Brooklyn. The upper level opened in 1964 and the lower level five years later. It has been the starting point of the New York City Marathon since 1976 and as the gateway to New York Harbor; all ships must pass under it.

Thank you Merja.

Mackinac Bridge 25.6.1958

Completed in 1957, the Mackinac Straits Bridge is featured on U.S. 1958 3¢ Mackinac Bridge stamp released on25.6.1958 at the Mackinac Bridge, Michigan. The bridge connects the Upper and Lower Michigan peninsulas. The bridge is an engineering marvel that runs for seven miles across the Straits. In 2010, the Mackinac Straits Bridge was also pictured on another  U.S. stamp.

Mackinac Bridge, 150,000,000 Vehicles Later. The Mackinac Bridge towers 200 feet above the windswept waters of Lakes Huron and Michigan. “Mighty Mac” extends 5 miles across the Straits of Mackinac to link Michigan’s Upper and Lower Peninsulas.

Before the bridge opened in 1957, travelers waited in long lines to cross the channel by ferry or drove all the way around Lake Michigan and through Wisconsin to get to the other side. The Mackinac Bridge shortened the trip to a ten-minute drive and opened the Upper Peninsula to tourism – adding an estimated $100 million a year to Michigan’s tourist trade.

Bridge designers took special precautions for Michigan’s severe winter weather. Grated openings between the center lanes improve airflow and prevent the road deck from being pushed up by strong winds. During high winds, the road deck can also move up to 35 feet from side to side to keep the bridge from buckling.

Some drivers are uncomfortable crossing the Mighty Mac. Bridge personnel call these commuters “timmies,” because they are too timid to drive across. The bridge authority provides them with a chauffeur at no extra fee. On September 6, 2009, the 150 millionth vehicle crossed the Mackinac Bridge.

Thank you Merja.

Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge and Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul(Jointly issued by China and Turkey) - Special Stamps

On November 26, 2012,China National Philatelic Corporation issued a set of two special stamps and a First Day Cover  titled "Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge and Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul" with a total face value of 2.4 yuan. This was a Joinbt Issue between Turkey and China.

Taizhou Yangtze River Bridge, in Eastern China’s Jiangsu Province, connects Taizhou City in the North to Zhenjiang and Changzhou cities in the South, playing a vital communications role in the Yangtze River Delta area and contributing to the expressway network of Jiangsu. Running 62 kilometres in length  with a cross-river main span of seven kilometres, it is a massive suspension bridge that includes three towers and two spans. Designed according to the standard of a two-way six lane expressway, the bridge was expected to be complete by 2012.

Bosphorous Bridge, in Istanbul, Turkey, spans the Bosphorous Strait, which connects Black Sea with the Sea of Marmara and Mediterranean Sea. Linking Europe and Asia, it measures 1560 metres in length and 33 metres in width. The bridge deck is wide enough to accommodate six lanes of traffic and high enough to allow various ships to pass underneath. The bridge was built in 1973.

Thank you Munu for this lovely FDC.