The world's tallest suspension bridge opened in Mexico Thursday spanning a ravine higher than New York's Empire State building and Paris' Eiffel Tower.
At 403 meters or 1,322 feet tall, the Baluarte Bicentennial Bridge connects between the northwestern states of Sinaloa and Durango in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains.
Officials with the Guinness Book of World Records were present as was President Felipe Calderon for the opening ceremony.
Mexican President Felipe Calderon officially opened the Baluarte Bridge in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains Thursday, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported. With a 1,321-foot drop from its deck to the bottom of the Baluarte River beneath, the span was named by Guinness World Records as the world's highest cable-stayed bridge.
According to the BBC, Baluarte stole its record from France's Millau Viaduct, which Guinness says remains the world's tallest, stretching 1,125 feet from top to bottom.
The Mexican span wasn't able to claim the record of being the world's highest bridge. According to the Guinness website, that honor remains with China's Si Du River Bridge in the Hubei province with a deck 1,549 feet off the ground.
The difference between the two bridges is that the Eiffel Tower could fit underneath the Baluarte Bridge but not the Empire State Building, which the Si Du River Bridge would cover.
The Baluarte Bridge isn't expected to open to traffic until later this year. The Reuters news service reported that construction began on the bridge in February 2008 and cost hundreds of millions to complete.
Mexico - World's tallest suspension bridge Video.
Incoming search terms for the article:
World's tallest suspension bridge, Mexico World's tallest suspension bridge, world's highest suspension bridge, world's highest cable-stayed bridge, 2012 World's tallest suspension bridge, world's highest Mexico bridge, World's tallest bridge 2012, tallest bridge in the world 2012, World's tallest bridge in Mexico, world's highest Baluarte Bridge, Baluarte Bridge picture, Baluarte Bridge video, images of Baluarte Bridge, Baluarte Bridge in Mexico, world's highest cable stayed bridge
