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A Closer Look at the Marvels of Engineering

The constructions below showcase the world’s greatest engineering feats. Many were built under stringent conditions and difficult habitats. They required years of dedication – and sometimes centuries as in the case of the Great Wall of China. They cross both land and sea while reaching to the clouds or the depths of the earth.

Akashi Kaikyo Suspension Bridge

Akashi Kaikyo suspension bridge is a magnificent work by numerous engineers situated in Japan. It was completed in 1998, built with 1991 meters central span. The bridge links the city of Kobe to Iwaya by crossing the busy Strait. The bridge is one of the key links of the Honshu-shikoku bridge project which will eventually create 3 routes across inland sea.

CERN’s Large Hadron Collider

CERN’s large hadron collider (LHC) is a gigantic scientific instrument near Geneva, where it spans the border between Switzerland and France about 100 m underground. The Large Hadron Collider is used by physicists to study the smallest known particles. It will revolutionize the understanding of the Universe.

Channel Tunnel

Channel tunnel is a 50.5 km undersea rail tunnel located in the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. It forms a major connection between Folkestone, Kent near Dover in the United Kingdom with Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais near Calais in northern France. At a depth of 75km, Channel tunnel composes of the longest undersea channel which carries high-speed eurostar rail.

Eiffel Tower

Eiffel tower in Paris, France is one of the most popular monuments built in 1889 as an entrance gate to the world fair. At a height of 324 meters (1,063ft), it is the tallest building of Paris made of iron lattice structure. It is built in 3 levels with escalator, lift or stairs. Millions of people ascent it every year making it the most visited monument.

Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. It connects the city of San Francisco to Marin County. When it was completed in 1937, the Golden Gate Bridge was the longest suspension bridge in the world. It has become one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco.

Great Pyramids of Giza

Great pyramids of Giza are one of the oldest ancient Seven Wonders of the World. They comprise of three pyramids: the Great Pyramid of Khufu, the Pyramid of Kafhre and the Pyramid of Men aura. The pyramid of Khufu stands at a height of 480.6ft. It the world’s tallest man made structure of ancient times.

Great Wall of China

The Great Wall of China is one of the seven wonders of the modern world. It consists of a series of earthen and stone fortifications. It was built to protect the northern borders of the Chinese Empire from intrusions by various nomadic groups. It is an integrated structure of several walls built between the 5th and the 16th century BC and has a length of 8851.8km.

Hangzhou Bay Bridge

Hangzhou Bay Bridge, built in 2007, is a long highway bridge with a cable-stayed portion across Hangzhou Bay in the eastern coastal region of China. It connects the municipalities of Jiaxing and Ningbo in Zhejiang province. At 35.673 km (22 mi) in length, Hangzhou Bay Bridge is the longest trans-oceanic bridge in the world. The bridge shortened the highway travel distance between Ningbo and Shanghai from 400 km to 280 km and reduced travel time from 4 to 2.5 hours.

Hoover Dam/Lake Mead

Hoover Dam in black canyon of the Colorado River is an arch-gravity dam made. It was constructed between 1931 and 1936. The design of the dam originated after an investigation of boulder canyon which required a dam for control of floods. The Hoover Dam is responsible for impounding the 28,500,000 acre feet of water that is Lake Mead. The Hoover Dam is a major emerging tourist attraction with a million people touring the dam each year.

International Space Station

International Space Station (ISS) is a research facility being developed and assembled internationally in the lower earth orbit. The station has a large cross-sectional area (can be seen with naked eye) making it the largest artificial satellite that has ever orbited Earth. The ISS serves as a research laboratory where experiments can be conducted in a microgravity environment.

Palm Deira of Dubai

The Palm Deira is one of the projects under the Palm Islands, a collection of artificially built archipelago in Dubai, Emirates. This will be a major center of commercial and residential infrastructure. The settlement is in the shape of a palm tree topped with a crescent.

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is a 77km canal built from 1904 to 1914. It joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It is responsible for international maritime trade with the annual traffic rise of 1000 ships. It is one of the most difficult and largest engineering projects ever taken since its inception in 16th century.

PETRONAS Twin Towers

The PETRONAS Twin Towers are skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. They were the world’s tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004 until surpassed by Taipei 101. The PETRONAS Towers were completed in 1998 after seven years of intensive construction. Due to the depth of the bedrocks, the building is built on the deepest foundation of 120 meters under the consultancy of experts.

Taj Mahal

Taj mahal, a mausoleum located in Agra, India, is one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World. It was built by the Mughal dynasty emperor shah Jahan in the memory of his love, his third wife, mumtaz mahal. It is an architectural wonder with a combination of element from Persian, Islamic and Indian architecture. Its construction took about 20 years.

Three Gorges Dam

The Three Gorges Dam is a hydroelectric dam that spans the Yangtze River in China. It is the world’s largest electricity-generating plant of any kind. It is second plant in terms of production. The project produces electricity, increases the river’s shipping capacity, and reduces the potential for floods by providing flood storage space.

Viaduc de Millau Bridge

The Millau Viaduct is a cable-stayed road-bridge that spans the valley of the river Tarn near Millau in southern France. Millau viaduct consists of eight span steel roadways. It is supported by seven concrete pylons. It stands as the tallest bridge in the world, with one mast having the summit at 343.0 meters.