The Bridge That Couldn't Agree

In 2017, crews from two countries began building the Pelješac Bridge in Croatia, a stunning cable-stayed span connecting the mainland to the Pelješac peninsula across the Adriatic. Chinese and European engineering teams worked on opposite ends, each following their own methods, standards, and timelines. Observers wondered whether the two halves would ever meet cleanly in the middle. But the bridge had one set of blueprints.…