Ava Bridge

The Ava Bridge — also known as the Inwa Bridge — was built in 1934 under British colonial administration as a combined road-and-rail crossing of the Irrawaddy River near the ancient Burmese capital of Inwa (Ava). Its steel truss construction made it one of Myanmar's longest bridges for decades, serving as a vital link between the Mandalay region and the south. In late March 2025 a major earthquake caused the bridge to collapse, ending its function as an active crossing. The nearby ruins of Inwa, former seat of several Burmese royal dynasties, remain a separate attraction — the bridge's story is now inseparable from its dramatic destruction.