TEN ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE MODERN WORLD
Jiaozhou Bay Bridge
Qingdao, China
Length: 26,707m
The bridge across China’s Jiaozhou Bay is the main section of a complex comprising a 41.58km roadway connecting the districts of Qingdao and Huangdao. Opened in 2011, the world’s longest bridge over water cost £5.5bn to build; its construction required 10,000 workers, 4,50,000 tonnes of steel and 2.3 million m³ of concrete.
Trans-Siberian railroad
russia
Length: 9,289km
construction on the world’s longest railway line began in 1891 and, by 1916, had successfully connected moscow in the west with Vladivostock on russia’s east coast, 9,289km away.
Burj Khalifa
united arab emirates
Height: 828m
The current tallest building in the world (boasting a full 163 storeys), this iconic skyscraper took 3,30,000 cubic metres of concrete and 39,000 tones of steel to build. the tower also boasts more than 24,000 windows.
Millau Viaduct
France
Length: 2,460m Height: 343m
The world’s tallest bridge spans the valley of the river tarn, carrying a fourlane highway 270m above the valley floor. Higher than the eiffel tower, the bridge was completed in 2004 after three years of construction at a cost of €400m.
Bailong elevator
china
Height: 330m
Built into a cliff face in Zhangjiajie national forest Park, the Bailong elevator (aka the ‘Hundred Dragons elevator’) is the world’s highest outdoor lift. the 330m ascent takes around a minute in one of three glass cabins.
Akashi Kaikyo bridge
Japan
Length: 3,911m
Almost half of the entire length of this incredible structure, which boasts the longest central span of any
suspension bridge in the world, is suspended over the waters of the Akashi strait and carries a six-lane highway.
Three Gorges Dam
china
Height: 180m
The barrier on china’s yangtze river is far from the biggest dam in the world, but is a crucial part of the world’s largest hydroelectric power station with a generating capacity of 22,500mW. to make way for the reservoir, three cities had to be flooded.
Panama canal
panama
Length: 77.1km
This man-made channel connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans opened in 1914. some 42,000 workers excavated the canal, digging enough earth to bury manhattan island. today, more than 14,500 vessels use the waterway every year.
Large Hadron collider
France/ switzerland
Length/
circumference: 27km
Buried 100m below france and switzerland is the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, designed to recreate the conditions that existed shortly after the Big Bang. it weighs more than 38,000 tonnes.
Gotthard base tunnel
switzerland
Length: 57km
Running underneath the swiss Alps, when completed this will be the world’s longest rail tunnel. Due to open in 2016, this will eclipse both the 53.85kmlong seikan tunnel in Japan and the 50km-long channel tunnel.
Qingdao, China
Length: 26,707m
The bridge across China’s Jiaozhou Bay is the main section of a complex comprising a 41.58km roadway connecting the districts of Qingdao and Huangdao. Opened in 2011, the world’s longest bridge over water cost £5.5bn to build; its construction required 10,000 workers, 4,50,000 tonnes of steel and 2.3 million m³ of concrete.
Trans-Siberian railroad
russia
Length: 9,289km
construction on the world’s longest railway line began in 1891 and, by 1916, had successfully connected moscow in the west with Vladivostock on russia’s east coast, 9,289km away.
Burj Khalifa
united arab emirates
Height: 828m
The current tallest building in the world (boasting a full 163 storeys), this iconic skyscraper took 3,30,000 cubic metres of concrete and 39,000 tones of steel to build. the tower also boasts more than 24,000 windows.
Millau Viaduct
France
Length: 2,460m Height: 343m
The world’s tallest bridge spans the valley of the river tarn, carrying a fourlane highway 270m above the valley floor. Higher than the eiffel tower, the bridge was completed in 2004 after three years of construction at a cost of €400m.
Bailong elevator
china
Height: 330m
Built into a cliff face in Zhangjiajie national forest Park, the Bailong elevator (aka the ‘Hundred Dragons elevator’) is the world’s highest outdoor lift. the 330m ascent takes around a minute in one of three glass cabins.
Akashi Kaikyo bridge
Japan
Length: 3,911m
Almost half of the entire length of this incredible structure, which boasts the longest central span of any
suspension bridge in the world, is suspended over the waters of the Akashi strait and carries a six-lane highway.
Three Gorges Dam
china
Height: 180m
The barrier on china’s yangtze river is far from the biggest dam in the world, but is a crucial part of the world’s largest hydroelectric power station with a generating capacity of 22,500mW. to make way for the reservoir, three cities had to be flooded.
Panama canal
panama
Length: 77.1km
This man-made channel connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans opened in 1914. some 42,000 workers excavated the canal, digging enough earth to bury manhattan island. today, more than 14,500 vessels use the waterway every year.
Large Hadron collider
France/ switzerland
Length/
circumference: 27km
Buried 100m below france and switzerland is the world’s most powerful particle accelerator, designed to recreate the conditions that existed shortly after the Big Bang. it weighs more than 38,000 tonnes.
Gotthard base tunnel
switzerland
Length: 57km
Running underneath the swiss Alps, when completed this will be the world’s longest rail tunnel. Due to open in 2016, this will eclipse both the 53.85kmlong seikan tunnel in Japan and the 50km-long channel tunnel.
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