tridges are - maybe unsurprisingly - a rare breed of bridge which are - again unsurprisingly after cleverly dissecting the name - notable by the presence of 3 spans rather than the usual 1. basically they're bridges which are Y-shaped instead of I-shaped and are usually found at confluences where 3 land masses need connecting (example one, the y-bridge in zanesville - example two, the tridge in midland).

today, after following links for what seemed like hours, i somehow ended up 'reading' a japanese blog and saw the tridge below, easily the best example i've seen of such a structure. it's called the kikko bridge (亀甲橋, which i think translates as 'turtle bridge' but feel free to correct me), was built in 1991 and is a stress ribbon pedestrian bridge meaning there's no need for a support column beneath the middle point due to the decks being pulled taut by the three foundations. by the way, the building on the left in the first photo is the clubhouse at aoyama kohgen golf club and the bridge connects golfers to the holes on either side of the water.


photo source


photo source


photo source

stunning engineering. if you want to read more technical details, go here.

also, after another bout of link-clicking i found the photo below without any context whatsoever, even in japanese. turns out it's called kokonoe yume ootsurihashi, can be found in oita prefecture and with a length of 390m & height of 173m claims to be japan's highest and longest pedestrian suspension bridge. true or not, it's an absolute monster.


click here for enormous version :: photo source


click here for enormous version :: photo source

finding these two by chance makes me wonder just how many incredible pieces of engineering exist in asia that i'm blissfully unaware of.

have a nice weekend.