The Akashi Kaikyo Bridge is located in a seismically active area that also receives some of the most violent storms on the planet. Engineers employed a sophisticated system of counterweights, pendulums, and steel-truss girders to allow the bridge to resist gusts of up to 290 km/h (180 miles/h). The maximum design load is divided between the two towers evenly, so each one can support nearly 2 million pounds. The world's longest suspension bridge, it links Japan's Shizuoka Prefecture with central Tokyo. Opened in 2016, it extends 991 meters (3281 feet) over the Pacific Ocean. It connects with three other bridges in its vicinity, forming a loop route across the bay. No single structure could have been designed to handle the winds that now blow across the Kaikyo Bridge; rather, its engineers used technology available at the time to come up with a solution that would work best overall. The bridge has nine large cables that are attached to anchors embedded in the ground on either side of the strait. These cables carry the weight of the deck above, which consists of more than 4 million square meters of glass fiber-reinforced plastic. The center portion of the bridge is closed to traffic. However, pedestrians and cyclists are allowed on the outside lanes, which are separated from the median by a fence. A small number of vehicles are also used as rolling offices for employees who work near the middle of the bridge.