# What river has the most bridges? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 16, 2011, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858 "2011-08-16T02:18:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Crafter\_Man](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crafter_man/32/458_2.png) [@Crafter\_Man](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crafter_Man)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858/21 "2011-08-16T13:55:00Z")
Interesting bit of trivia: if you drive through Dayton, Ohio on Interstate 75, you will cross over the Great Miami River **five times** over a driving distance of less than five miles. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858/22 "2011-08-16T14:02:04Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > From the example the OP gives, I think he/she might actually be more interested in a formula that takes into account: > > 1. the frequency (density) of bridges; that is, how many bridges per unit of river length?; and > > 2. the width of the river (so the Harlem River would be “bridgier”, say, than the Los Angeles River; the lower Thames probably “bridgier” still; etc.). > > Given a pretty decent geo-database (say, generated for 1:50,000-scale maps) and typical GIS software, it wouldn’t be too hard to come up with some answers, but it would entail a few weeks of real work if you wanted to be accurate and include a large area (perhaps even the whole planet). The hardest part might be deciding how to score a river’s width, since that obviously changes along the course of the river. > > This is kind of thing that entails applying for a modest geography research grant, and publishing in an modestly respected journal in the built environment or human geography realms. Widths - offhand, I’d give a score in feet of bridge per mile of river (or meter per kilometer). That would take into account the width of river spanned by the bridges, which may be more important for this than the actual average river width. Clearly, the measure you are proposing is going to be very different from greatest number of bridges, or greatest sum of bridge lengths for an entire river. Of course, then we have to agree how we measure bridge lengths. If you wish to take into account the amount of traffic that crosses a bridge, we could ask about the most CROSSED river in the world, in people per day, I suppose. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858/23 "2011-08-16T16:25:08Z")
> [@N9IWP](#): > > After watching a movie set in Chicago and noticing all the bridges, it occured to me to wonder what river has the most bridges? Chicago has the most _movable_ bridges of any city in the world. The cite also says there are about 180 bridges in the county. ([cite](http://www.gapersblock.com/airbags/archives/chicago_the_movable_bridge_capital_of_the_world/)) There is [this advertisement](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWXWF3WLLpU) for United Airlines which has a neat display of a bunch of the bridges all going up at once along a particular stretch of river in Chicago. It’s fun to watch the sailboats move in and out from the lake at the beginning and end of summer. They don’t make the bridges go up like in the commercial but will raise one after another in succession to let the sailboats get to and from winter dry docks. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858/24 "2011-08-16T16:39:04Z")
I strongly doubt it’s the Nile. Once you get south of Cairo, I’d expect crossings to get rather sparse, rather quickly. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858/25 "2011-08-16T17:29:08Z")
Heh. Wiki does have several lists of bridge crossings. The “long small river” argument probably has merit: The upper Mississippi has more than I care to count: [List of crossings of the Upper Mississippi River - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crossings_of_the_Upper_Mississippi_River) The Lower Mississippi has 20, removing the 10 ferry crossings listed: [List of crossings of the Lower Mississippi River - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crossings_of_the_Lower_Mississippi_River) The upper river includes LOTS of bridges over the Mississippi where it’s a dinky little creek after emerging from Lake Itasca: [Google Maps](http://maps.google.com/maps?q=lake+itasca&ll=47.253456,-95.225694&spn=0.012365,0.019548&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&gl=us&z=16&vpsrc=6&layer=c&cbll=47.253455,-95.225403&panoid=NPgDL6mg0K2dHHQbzS1KOw&cbp=12,168.38,,0,9.78) The Ohio: > **[List of crossings of the Ohio River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crossings_of_the_Ohio_River)** > > This is a complete list of current bridges and other crossings of the Ohio River from the mouth at the Mississippi River at Cairo, Illinois to the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela Rivers at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. > (crosses the river entirely within the state of Kentucky at this point) > (Falls of the Ohio) > The source of the Ohio River is at the confluence of the Allegheny River and the Monongahela River (40°26′31″N 80°00′50″W / 40.44194°N 80.01389°W / 40.44194; -80.01389) at P... If we consider that the actual main stem by volume of the Mississippi River drainage is the Mississippi - Ohio - Allegheny, we have to consider the Allegheny, which also has a large number of bridges because it starts as a small creek: > **[List of crossings of the Allegheny River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crossings_of_the_Allegheny_River)** > > This is a list of current bridges and other crossings of the Allegheny River starting from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where it joins the Monongahela to form the Ohio River. And here’s the list of crossings of the Danube - it’s pretty large, and I’m not going to count them either: [List of crossings of the Danube - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crossings_of_the_Danube) Somebody can poke around these wiki lists, decide which ones are “real” bridges, and count, if they like. ---
**Author:** ![tdn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/94ad74/32.png) [@tdn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tdn)\ **Post date:** [August 16, 2011, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858/26 "2011-08-16T17:46:41Z")
> [@JKellyMap](#): > > This is kind of thing that entails applying for a modest geography research grant, and publishing in an modestly respected journal in the built environment or human geography realms. And a boat. ---
**Author:** ![N9IWP](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/n9iwp/32/3154_2.png) [@N9IWP](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/N9IWP)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858/27 "2011-08-17T11:09:00Z")
While bridge density is interesting, I was thinking total bridges - hadn’t really thought of tunnels. But I figured the winning river would go through many cities so it would have sevearl high brideg density spots Brian ---
**Author:** ![mac\_bolan00](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b3f665/32.png) [@mac\_bolan00](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mac_bolan00)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 11:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858/28 "2011-08-17T11:46:10Z")
but then the question would shift to “which city has the most bridges?” ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858/29 "2011-08-17T12:30:03Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > The Pregel River has [seven](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Bridges_of_K%C3%B6nigsberg) bridges just in Koenigsberg. It would be interesting to walk across them all someday. Without crossing any twice? 😉 Kant! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858/30 "2011-08-17T13:30:46Z")
I happen to live in the city where the [first bridge was built over the Yangtze](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nanjing_Yangtze_River_Bridge) – in 1968! China’s come a long, long way since then, but I’m too lazy too back up my assertion that they probably haven’t beat multiple countries’ spans across more historically-relevant rivers. ---
**Author:** ![obfusciatrist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/4af34b/32.png) [@obfusciatrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obfusciatrist)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858/31 "2011-08-17T21:17:40Z")
[This page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangtze_River_bridges_and_tunnels) lists 62 for the Yangtze (65 counting tunnels) with another 8 under construction. The first bridge listed is at Yibin. Don’t know if that is because there are no bridges above that or if that is just a cutoff point used in the article for some reason. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [August 17, 2011, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858/32 "2011-08-17T21:27:54Z")
> [@obfusciatrist](#): > > [This page](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangtze_River_bridges_and_tunnels) lists 62 for the Yangtze (65 counting tunnels) with another 8 under construction. > > The first bridge listed is at Yibin. Don’t know if that is because there are no bridges above that or if that is just a cutoff point used in the article for some reason. Whoa. There are 27 in Chongqing alone! At the end of the list are pictures. Does it not look like they looked at a bridge catalogue and said, “We’ll have one of everything”? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 3:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858/33 "2011-08-18T03:02:05Z")
I counted something like 140 bridges across the [Danube](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crossings_of_the_Danube). Note that I lost count several times, so that’s just an estimate. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858/34 "2011-08-18T11:55:54Z")
The Wikipedia page for the Amazon River claims that there are _no_ bridges over the Amazon! ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858/35 "2011-08-18T14:24:08Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > The Wikipedia page for the Amazon River claims that there are _no_ bridges over the Amazon! Indeed I checked Google maps for large cities, and there’s nothing. While it drains mostly rain forest, I would still suggest that the Amazon has to be the most un-exploited large river in the world. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2011, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858/36 "2011-08-18T16:23:22Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > I counted something like 140 bridges across the [Danube](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_crossings_of_the_Danube). Note that I lost count several times, so that’s just an estimate. OK, I counted the Mississippi page (see my post above). Similar estimate gives 150 for the upper, with 20 for the lower - about 170. At this point, I would tentatively give the Mississippi the prize. Even the ruse with lower Mississippi - Ohio - Allegheny combined doesn’t seem to beat it, nor the Missouri. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-river-has-the-most-bridges/592858.md?page=1)