Don’t look down: Swiss open new foot bridge near Matterhorn

GENEVA — This bridge is not for the acrophobic.

Switzerland has inaugurated the world’s longest suspension foot bridge along a trail toward the famed Matterhorn that features majestic Alpine views.

A Swiss tourism official said Wednesday the 1,621-foot bridge can cut hiking time on the Europaweg trail by at least 3 hours between the southwestern towns of Graechen and Zermatt.

Before Saturday’s opening, Alpine explorers had to descend into the town of Randa and scale another ascent since a shorter foot bridge was closed in 2010 due to unstable terrain.

Only 25 inches wide, the bridge soars as high as 279 feet above the ground, traversing over the deepest-cut valley in Switzerland.

Swiss media said the structure surpasses Germany’s 1,506-foot “Titan-RT” as the world’s longest suspension bridge.