On this day, 27 years ago, on April 5, 1998 (March 9, 1998, the world's longest suspension bridge-Japan's Akashi Kaikai Bridge was officially opened to traffic. Akashi Kaikai Bridge in Japan On April 5, 1998, the world's longest suspension bridge, the Akashi Kaikai Bridge in Japan, was officially opened to traffic. The Crown Prince and his wife attended the opening ceremony. The Akashi Strait Bridge is located between Kobe City and Awaji Island, Japan. It has a total length of 3911 meters and a main pier span of 1991 meters, breaking the world record for the span of the Hanba Bridge in the United Kingdom of 1410 meters. The two main piers are 297 meters above sea level, 80 meters in diameter, and 60 meters in water. The two main steel cables are each about 4000 meters long and 1.12 meters in diameter. They consist of 290 thin steel cables and weigh about 50,000 tons. Construction of the Akashi Strait Bridge started in May 1988 and was completed on March 21 this year.