10 of the World’s Largest Infrastructure Projects

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From Egyptian pyramids to modern skyscrapers, humanity has always been interested in building large infrastructure projects. In many cases, it is our way to conquer and control the natural world around us. Sometimes, these mega construction projects have a benefited our society, but sometimes we built them for pleasure. In many cases, we built them with a little bit of both in mind. Check out below for 10 of the world’s largest infrastructure projects.

#10: Three Gorges Dam in China

It seems like China only knows how to do large infrastructure projects. The Three Gorges Dam is a perfect example of this. This dam is located on the Yangtze River and is officially the largest dam in the world. It is over 60 stories tall and cost $59 billion to build. The Three Gorges Dam provides over 11 times the amount of power than the Hoover Dam in the United States. However, this is only a tiny fraction of China’s power needs. It is a symbol of China’s economic might.

However, despite the impressiveness of this project, it had to get past many hurdles. The dam formed an artificial lake which displaced over 13 cities, 140 towns, and 1,350 villages. In total, over 1.2 million people had to move. In addition, the dam had a large environmental impact including killing off large populations of fish, destroying natural habitats, and increasing pollution.^[1]International Rivers – Three Gorges Dam

#9: Burj Khalifa in Dubai

The Burjj Kahlifa in Dubai is part of the country’s attempt to diversify its national economy. Previously, Dubai’s main source of income was oil. In fact, prior to the discovery of oil in the country, Dubai had been a very poor country. With the influx of oil money, Dubai’s economy boomed. However, the country’s leaders quickly realized the oil would eventually dry up.

Therefore, they decided that in order to survive, they needed to move away from an oil based economy. As such, they transported Dubai’s economy into one focused on tourism with the Burjj Kahlifa the crowning jewel of this strategy. It is currently the tallest building in the world at 828 meters (2716.5 feet) tall.^[2]Burj Khalifa – Facts & Figures

#8: Qingdao Haiwan Bridge

The Qingdao Haiwan Bridge is another example of China’s obsession with large infrastructure projects and their ability control the natural world around them. The bridge is the world’s longest over water bridge at 41.58 km (25.84 miles) long.^[3]The Telegraph – China opens world’s longest sea bridge The bridge connects Qingdao and Huangdao in North Eastern China. It reduces the distance between the two cities by around 30 km (19 mi) and the travel time by 20 to 30 minutes.

#7: The Great Wall of China

One of the greatest infrastructure projects is the Great Wall of China, the longest wall in the world. The wall, situated in Northern China, comes in at over 21,196.18 km (13,170.7 miles) long.^[4]China Highlights – The Great Wall of China — All Things You Want to Know In addition, the Wall took over 2,300 years to complete. In fact, the Great Wall of China is actually a collection of many walls that 4 different Chinese Imperial dynasties that built and connected together.

The Chinese originally built the Great Wall in order to protect themselves from invasion from the Mongols in the north as well as to protect trade along the Silk Road. However, the Great Wall did not end up being extra successful in this task as the Mongols eventually took over China.

#6: English Channel Tunnel connecting Britain and France

The English Channel separates Britain from France and the rest of continental Europe. It is only a relatively short stretch of 21 miles over ocean that separates Dover, England from Calais, France. However, for most of history that was enough. It made it difficult for any other European power to take over England. However, in modern times, the channel became a sort of economic barrier as the transport of goods was not as easy.

This led to one of the biggest infrastructure projects every completed. Companies from both countries created a 31 mile long and 250 foot deep tunnel to connect the England and France.^[5]Euro Tunnel – The Channel Tunnel – interesting facts In fact, the tunnel was built from both the English side and French side simultaneously, meeting approximately in the middle. The English Channel Tunnel has the largest portion of tunnel underneath the ocean. This mega construction project took a lot of time, money, and man power. In fact, the project took 6 years to complete, cost nearly $17 billion to build, and employed around 13,000 people in its construction.

#5: China’s Pingtang Telescope

China’s commitment to big infrastructure projects is best demonstrated by the Pingtang telescope. The telescope is a great example of China’s commitment to the advancement of science and space exploration. In fact, Chinese scientists claim that it is at least 10 to 20 years ahead of any other radio telescope technology in existence. The Chinese government completed it in 2016. It is now the largest radio telescope in the world at over 500 meters (1640 feet) wide with a total area of over 30 football fields.^[6]WIRED – China’s giant radio telescope is finally finished

#4: The Millau Viaduct in the South of France

One of the most impressive infrastructure projects is located in the south of France in the small city of Millau (Aveyron). There you can find the tallest bridge in the whole world, the Millau Viaduct which stands at 343 meters (1125 feet) tall (taller than the Eiffel Tower) and 2460 meters (8070 feet) long.^[7]Tourism Official Website Aveyron – Record breaking viaduct Engineers created it to link Clermont-Ferrand with Beziers and Narbonne. It serves as a less congested and cheaper route connecting the Mediterranean region of France with Paris.

#3: The US Interstate Highway System

The United States Interstate Highway System is one of the biggest infrastructure projects ever made. Former General and President of the United States, Dwight D. Eisenhower, came up with the idea while traveling across the US using the existing small highway system. At the time, it took him nearly a month cross the country by car. As a previous famous WWII general, he understood the strategic disadvantage this would cost. It would be nearly impossible to fight off an invading force other than with local troops. He came up with the idea to make a federally funded Interstate Highway System that would crisscross the country. This would make it much quicker and easier to move around the US.

However, US Interstate Highway System ended up doing much more than that. It became one of the main ways for business to transport goods across the country. In fact, due to this, it ushered in a new era of prosperity for the United States. The US government first started construction in 1957. However, they did not complete it until 1992. In all, 47,856 miles of road were created. That is the equivalent of a  road going around the world twice.^[8]U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration – History of the Interstate Highway System

#2: Skytree in Tokyo

The Tokyo Skytree in Tokyo, Japan is the world’s tallest tower. Engineers started construction in 2008 and finished in 2012. This amazing feat of structural engineering reaches a height of 634 meters (2,080 ft.). Today, it stands as an example of Japan’s proud and great engineering prowess.

The Tokyo Skytree is primaryly a radio and TV antenna tower for the Tokyo region. It replaced an older tower that had lost its usefullness due to the skyscrapers around it blocking the signal. In addition, it also is an iconic tourist destination in Tokyo. In fact, the tower has multiple observation decks, souvenir shops, and even restaurants and cafes for tourists to visit.^[9]Tokyo Sky Tree – Floor Guide

#1: SR 520 Floating Bridge in Seattle, Washington

Unlike other bridges in Washington state, SR 520 is a 7,700 foot bridge made out of concrete in Seattle, Washington. It holds the record for being the longest floating bridge in the world. But how does concrete float on water? The secret is that the bridge sits on 77 air filled pontoons.^[10]Washington State Department of Transportation – SR 520 – Floating Bridge and Landings Project – Complete August 2017

There are several reasons engineers decided to build the bridge in this fashion. First, Lake Washington is actually not an ideal spot to build a bridge on. This is because the lake is very deep (200 feet). In addition, the lake bottom consists of soft sand that is not ideal to anchor into. If engineers attempted to build a traditional bridge here, the bridge’s supporting structure would have to be so tall it would not make it financially worthwhile.

The second thing that prevented building a traditional bridge, was the local residents around the lake. In order to build a bridge, like the Golden Gate Bridge, it would block the views from the lake shore. A lot of residents who lived on the lake shore and payed a lot of  money for the beautiful natural view did not approve of this. Therefore, the easiest answer for the engineers was to build a floating bridge.