Twenty-four French architectural students, supervised by three from Japan, have built a bridge out of cardboard tubes, the latest brainchild of eco-enthusiast Shigeru Ban.

It took a month to assemble 280 4in diameter tubes, on foundations made from wooden fruit boxes filled with sand, and with steps at each end consisting of recycled paper. The bridge was load tested with balloons filled with 1.5 tonnes of water and has been declared safe for twenty people to cross at one time. 

The bridge is just half a mile from the Pont du Gard, a Roman aqueduct that has lasted nearly 2,000 years.

‘Paper, too, can be permanent, can be strong and lasting,’ says Gan. ‘We need to get rid of these prejudices.’

Clearly Gan’s solution is just what is needed to replace the thousands of dangerous bridges recently discovered in the United States.