All-time Top 10 Civil Engineering Projects
Ingenium, meaning wit, and devisa, as a general term, are two Latin words that describe engineering. Humanity has used its intelligence for centuries to create, design, and construct things that help us solve life's problems.
Over the centuries, Mankind has built many impressive structures and buildings using its intelligence. The following projects have become landmarks, and icons of civil engineering stand out as among the greatest.
1. Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco
Often cited as one of the most beautiful bridges in the world, the Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most visited attractions in San Francisco. The $27 million suspension bridge connects San Francisco with Marin County, spanning a strait over a mile long.
The longest suspension bridge in the world opened in 1937 and remained the longest for nearly thirty years. American Society of Civil Engineers has named the bridge one of the Modern Wonders of the World and one of the most recognized symbols of the United States.
2. Brooklyn Bridge in New York
That is the first steel-wire suspension bridge in the world and one of the oldest in the United States. The East River bridge connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. John August Roebling designed and built the bridge, and his son Washington Roebling completed it when his father became ill.
A total of $15.5 million spend on the project. After 30 years of residents calling it that the New York & Brooklyn Bridge officially renames the Brooklyn Bridge. New York City's iconic fountain has become a popular tourist destination since its opening. The landmark status grants in 1964.
3. Great Wall of China
In addition to being one of the most visited tourist attractions in the world, the Great Wall of China has a history dating back over 2,000 years. Western cultures refer to it as the Great Wall, but Chinese people call it Ch?ng, which means both wall and city.
Due to the association between settlements and walls in China, the two terms are synonymous; hence, the 'Great Wall' referred to by us is the 'Long City' and the 'Long Wall' to the people of China. On the east side of the Great Wall is Dandong, while on the west side is Lop Lake.
A total of 13171 miles covers by the wall with all its different branches. Putting a price tag on the wall can't be determined precisely, but modern calculations indicate it would have cost somewhere between $13billion and $65billion to build.
4. The Colosseum in Rome
Rome's Colosseum is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World & the world's largest and most iconic. Some as many people can fit inside this structure as there are modern stadiums. It is almost 2,000 years old and has a capacity of 50,000 to 80,000 people.
Ancient Rome designed this building for the entertainment of its citizens. It was built at the center of the city to provide residents with leisure. There has been much written and studied about it in popular culture.
5. English Channel Tunnel
From the UK's Kent coast to France's Pas-de-Calais lays the English Channel Tunnel. This tunnel has the longest undersea section of the world, measuring 27.5 miles (37,9km). The cave depth is 75 meters (250 feet) below sea level and 115 meters (380 feet) below sea level at its deepest point. In addition to carrying high-speed trains, international goods trains, and highway shuttles, it is the world's most extensive transport system.
Opening in 1994, it cost an astounding ?9 billion, making it the most expensive project in history. That is one of the most valuable engineering feats ever, regardless of more expensive construction projects in recent years.
6. Hoover Dam
In the Black Canyon of the Colorado River, the Hoover Dam construct during the Great Depression as a concrete arch-gravity dam. Hoover Dam serves as the impoundment for Lake Mead, one of the country's largest reservoirs.
Thousands of workers live in temporary towns during the construction of the project. Hoover Dam was built five years ahead of schedule, costing over $660 million, and is named after Herbert Hoover.
7. Lake Pontchartrain Causeway
It is 23.83 miles (38.35km) long and spans the entire length of Lake Pontchartrain in Louisiana (U.S.). Since 1959, the bridge has been the longest continuous stretch of Water Bridge in the world.
Compared to other causeways in the world, this causeway supports 9,500 pilings and hasn't been damaged as much by major storms or hurricanes.
8. Itaipu Dam
A dam known as The Itaipu Dam is located on the Parana River, on the border between Brazil and Paraguay. A massive 103,098,366 megawatt-hours are generated from this hydroelectric dam, making it the most productive hydroelectric project in the world. The dam generates enough electricity to share equally with both Paraguay and Brazil, although the surplus energy created by the dam transfers back to Brazil.
9. Great Pyramid of Giza
Despite being one of the oldest and largest pyramids in the world, the Great Pyramid of Giza is largely intact. For more than 3,800 years, this was the tallest building in the world. The Giza pyramid complex is one of three pyramids.
Khufu, a pharaoh of the Fourth Dynasty, is believed to have built the pyramid as a tomb over twenty years. Several experts claim the stone was composed of limestone, 500,000 tones of mortar, and 8,500 tones of granite imported from abroad.
10. Burj Khalifa
Burj Khalifa is the world's tallest building. It stands at 829.8 meters in height. A hexagonal core was fashioned into the 'buttressed core' to support the building's extreme height.
It was named after the ruler of Dubai and the President of the United Arab Emirates, and its design was influenced by Islamic architecture. The cost of construction was $1.5 billion.
