More than 200,000 Lego bricks have been used to build the world’s longest suspension bridge made from the children’s toy. The 31m long bridge stands over 3m tall and went on public display in London on Monday inside the Institution of Civil Engineers library.

 

The structure forms the centerpiece to a bridge engineering exhibition and has been designed by Aecom bridges director Dr Robin Sham. 

 

“By using familiar Lego bricks to demystify and showcase the extraordinary feats of engineers I hope the next generation will be inspired to consider engineering as a career,” he said.

 

Construction was overseen by bridge engineers from WSP Parsons Brinckerhoff. Design manager Claire Gott said: “The construction was a fantastic opportunity to see civil engineering in action while using a material we all know and love.”

 

The suspension bridge is nearly as long as three London Routemaster buses parked end to end and weighs around 750kg. Its world record is for the longest single bridge span created out of Lego bricks, at 16.46m. The two connected side spans at either end give the bridge a total span of 31m. The previous record was 14m.

 

Visitors to the bridges exhibition are also guided on a tour of structures including the Menai suspension bridge, Severn Bridge and the soon to be completed Queensferry Crossing.

 

An interactive zone allows visitors and children to become civil engineers for the day by constructing their own.