The Akashi Kaikyō Bridge, also known as the Pearl Bridge, links the city of Kobe on the mainland of Honshu to Iwaya on Awaji Island, Japan. It crosses the busy Akashi Strait. It carries part of the Honshu-Shikoku Highway. Since its completion, in 1998, the bridge has the longest central span of any suspension bridge in the world, at 1,991 metres (6,532 ft) It is one of the key links of the Honshū-Shikoku Bridge Project, which created three routes across the Inland Sea.