Louisiana bridge stretching nearly 24 miles holds longest in the world title with drivers unable to see land for 8 miles
Published on Sep 17, 2025 at 1:25 PM (UTC+4)
by Henry Kelsall
Last updated on Sep 17, 2025 at 1:25 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Amelia Jean Hershman-Jones
A Louisiana bridge stretching across roughly 24 miles has earned the title of the longest in the world, with drivers unable to see land for nearly 8 miles.
The bridge is the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, and it is currently the longest continuous bridge over water in the world.
It has ferried people across Lake Pontchartrain to New Orleans since the 1950s, with it gaining a new northbound section in the late 1960s.
The most remarkable part of the bridge was how quickly it was constructed, and it used construction methods that had not been used before on a bridge of any kind.
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The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway was built in 1956
Construction was rapid, with it taking just 14 months for the road bridge to be built.
Those building it used new mass-production and assembly-line methods.
Up to its completion in 1956, no bridge had used those two methods of construction.
The first part of the bridge to open was the southbound section, opening on August 30th, 1956.
Following this, the northbound section was built, although this wasn’t completed until 1969.
The principal aim of the bridge was to link the communities on the other side of Lake Pontchartrain with the city of New Orleans in Louisiana.
In that regard, it was an enormous success.
It also offered access for tourists in New Orleans.
They could now visit restaurants and stores on the north shore of the lake.
The Louisiana bridge is the longest in the world over water
Despite its completion being 56 years ago, the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway remains the longest continuous bridge over water in the world.
It is supported by 9,500 concrete pilings and stretches across 24 miles.
Of those 24 miles, drivers lose complete sight of land for eight of them.
That could be quite an unnerving feeling.
Its Guinness World Record, however, was threatened in 2011, with the opening of the Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in China.
But a controversy over the types of bridges led to the creation of two categories for those over water.
These were continuous and aggregate.
As such, the Qingdao Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in China is the longest aggregate bridge, while the causeway is the longest continuous over water.
Turns out the length of bridges can be quite the source of controversy!
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Henry is a content writer with nearly ten years experience, having written for various publications since 2017. Qualifying with a Sports Journalism degree from Staffordshire University, Henry loves all things automotive but has a particular soft spot for classic Japanese cars and anything Lancia. He also has a curious passion for steam locomotives.
