The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
The seven wonders of the ancient world were considered to be the preeminent architectural and sculptural achievements of the Mediterranean and Middle East. The best known are those of the 2nd-century-bc writer Antipater of Sidon. Some early lists included the Walls of Babylon or the Palace of King Cyrus of Persia, but the established list usually contained the following:
Pyramids of Giza. The oldest of the wonders and the only one substantially in existence today, the pyramids of Giza were erected c. 2575-c. 2465 bc on the west bank of the Nile River near Al-Jizah in northern Egypt. The designations of the pyramids—Khufu, Khafre, and Menkaure—correspond to the kings for whom they were built. Khufu (also called the Great Pyramid) is the largest of the three, the length of each side at the base averaging 230 m (755 % ft). Its original height was 147 m (481.4 ft); none of the pyramids reach their original heights because they have been almost entirelystripped of theirouter casings of smooth white limestone. According to Herodotus, the Great Pyramid took 20 years to constructand demanded the labor of 100,000 men.
Hanging Gardens of Babylon. A series of landscaped terraces ascribed to either Queen Sammu-ramat (810-783 bc) or King Nebuchadrezzar II (c. 605-c. 561 bc), the gardens were built within the walls of the royal palace at Babylon (in present-day southern Iraq). They did not actually “hang” but were instead “up in the air”—that is, they were roof gardens laid out on a series of ziggurat terraces that were irrigated by pumps from the Euphrates River. Although no traces of the Hanging Gardens have been found, classical authors related that the terraces were roofed with stone balconies on which were layered various materials, such as reeds, bitumen, and lead, so that the irrigation water would not seep through them.
Statue of Zeus. A large, ornate figure of Zeus on his throne, this wonder was made around 430 bc by Phidias of Athens. It was placed in the huge Temple of Zeus at Olympia in western Greece. The statue, almost 12 m (40 ft) high and plated with gold and ivory, represented the god sitting on an elaborate cedar-wood throne ornamented with ebony, ivory, gold, and precious stones. On his outstretched right hand was a statue of Nike (Victory), and in the god’s left hand was a scepter on which an eagle was perched. The statue, which took eight years to construct, may have been destroyed along with the temple in ad 426, or in a fire at Constantinople (Istanbul) about 50 years later.
Temple of Artemis. The great temple was built by Croesus, king of Lydia, in about 550 bc and was rebuilt after being burned by a madman named Hero-stratus in 356 bc. The artemesium was famous not only for its great size (over 110 by 55 m [350 by 80 ft]) but also for the magnificent works of art that adorned it. It was destroyed by invading Goths in ad 262 and was never rebuilt. Little remains of the temple, but excavation has revealed traces of it, and copies survive of the famous statue of Artemis. A mummylike figure, this early representation of the goddess stands stiffly straight, with her hands extended outward. The original statue was made of gold, ebony, silver, and black stone, the legs and hips covered by a garment decorated with reliefs of animals and bees and the head adorned with a high-pillared headdress.
Mausoleum of Halicarnassus. Monumental tomb of Mausolus, the tyrant of Caria in southwestern Asia Minor, the mausoleum was built between about 353 and 351 bc by Mausolus’ sister and widow, Artemisia. The architect was Pythius (Pytheos), and the sculptures that adorned the building were the work of four leading Greek artists. According to the description of Pliny the Elder, the monument was almost square, with a total periphery of 125 m (411 ft). It was bounded by 36 columns, and the top formed a 24-step pyramid surmounted by a four-horse marble chariot. Fragments of the mausoleum’s sculpture are preserved in the British Museum. The mausoleum was probably destroyed by an earthquake between the 11th and 15th century ad, and the stones were reused in local buildings.
Colossus of Rhodes. This huge bronze statue was built at the harbor of Rhodes in ancient Greece in commemoration of the raising of the siege of Rhodes (305-304 bc). The sculptor was Chares of Lyndus, and the statue was made of bronze, reinforced with iron, and weighted with stones. The Colossus was said to be 70 cubits (32 m [105 ft]) high and stood beside Mandrakion harbor. It is technically impossible that the statue could have straddled the harbor entrance, and the popular belief that it did so dates only from the Middle Ages. The Colossus took 12 years to build (c. 294-282 bc) and was toppled by an earthquake about 225 bc. The fallen Colossus was left in place until ad 654, when Arabian forces raided Rhodes and had the statue broken up and the bronze sold for scrap.
Pharos of Alexandria. The most famous lighthouse of the ancient world, it was built by Sostratus of Cnidus, perhaps for Ptolemy I Soter, but was finished during the reign of his son, Ptolemy II of Egypt, about 280 bc. The lighthouse stood on the island of Pharos off Alexandria and is said to have been more than 100 m (350 ft) high; the only taller man-made structures at the time would have been the pyramids of Giza. It was a technological triumph and is the archetype of all lighthouses since. According to ancient sources, a broad spiral ramp led to the top, where a fire burned at night. The lighthouse was destroyed by an earthquake in the 1300s. In 1994 a large amount of masonry blocks and statuary was found in the waters off Pharos.
Tallest Buildings in the World
Building height equals the distance from the sidewalk level of the main entrance to the structural top of the building, including spires but not including antennae, signage, or flag poles. Only buildings that have been completed are included here.
|
|
|
|
YEAR |
HEIGHT |
|
|
RANK |
BUILDING |
CITY |
COMPLETED |
IN FT/M |
STORIES |
|
1 |
Taipei 101 |
Taipei, Taiwan |
2004 |
1,670/509 |
101 |
|
2 |
Petronas Tower 1 |
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
1998 |
1,483/452 |
88 |
|
3 |
Petronas Tower 2 |
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
1998 |
1,483/452 |
88 |
|
4 |
Sears Tower |
Chicago IL |
1974 |
1,451/442 |
110 |
|
5 |
Jin Mao Building |
Shanghai, China |
1999 |
1,381/421 |
88 |
|
6 |
Two International Finance Centre |
Hong Kong, China |
2003 |
1,362/415 |
88 |
|
7 |
CITIC Plaza |
Guangzhou, China |
1996 |
1,283/391 |
80 |
|
8 |
Shun Hing Square |
Shenzhen, China |
1996 |
1,260/384 |
69 |
|
9 |
Empire State Building |
New York NY |
1931 |
1,250/381 |
102 |
|
10 |
Central Plaza |
Hong Kong, China |
1992 |
1,227/374 |
78 |
|
11 |
Bank of China |
Hong Kong, China |
1989 |
1,205/367 |
70 |
|
12 |
Emirates Tower One |
Dubai, UAE |
1999 |
1,165/355 |
54 |
|
13 |
Tuntex Sky Tower |
Kaohsiung, Taiwan |
1997 |
1,140/348 |
85 |
|
14 |
Aon Centre |
Chicago IL |
1973 |
1,136/346 |
83 |
|
15 |
The Center |
Hong Kong, China |
1998 |
1,135/346 |
73 |
|
16 |
John Hancock Center |
Chicago IL |
1969 |
1,127/344 |
100 |
|
17 |
Rose Rotana Tower |
Dubai, UAE |
2007 |
1,093/333 |
72 |
|
18 |
Shimao International Plaza |
Shanghai, China |
2006 |
1,093/333 |
60 |
|
19 |
Minsheng Bank Building |
Wuhan, China |
2008 |
1,087/331 |
68 |
|
20 |
Q1 |
Gold Coast, QLD, Australia |
2005 |
1,058/323 |
78 |
|
21 |
Burj Al Arab |
Dubai, UAE |
1999 |
1,053/321 |
60 |
|
22 |
Nina Tower I |
Hong Kong, China |
2006 |
1,046/319 |
80 |
|
23 |
Chrysler Building |
New York NY |
1930 |
1,046/319 |
77 |
|
24 |
New York Times Tower |
New York NY |
2007 |
1,046/319 |
52 |
|
25 |
Bank of America Plaza |
Atlanta GA |
1993 |
1,039/317 |
55 |
Longest Span Structures in the World by Type
|
Bridges |
||
|
SUSPENSION LOCATION |
YEAR OF COMPLETION |
MAIN SPAN (M) |
|
Akashi Kaikyo Kobe-Awaji Island, Japan part of eastern link between islands of Honshu and Shikoku |
1998 |
1,991 |
|
Store Baelt (Great Belt) Zealand-Funen, Denmark |
1998 |
1,624 |
|
part of link between Copenhagen and mainland Europe |
|
|
|
Nancha Zhenjiang, China world’s third longest suspension bridge |
2005 |
1,490 |
|
Humber near Hull, England |
1981 |
1,410 |
|
crosses Humber estuary between Yorkshire and Lincolnshire |
|
|
|
Jiangyin Jiangsu province, China |
1999 |
1,385 |
|
crosses Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) near Shanghai |
|
|
|
Tsing Ma Hong Kong, China |
1997 |
1,377 |
|
connects Hong Kong city with airport on Landao Island |
|
|
|
Verrazano-Narrows New York NY |
1964 |
1,298 |
|
spans New York Harbor between Brooklyn and Staten Island |
|
|
|
Golden Gate San Francisco CA |
1937 |
1,280 |
|
spans entrance to San Francisco Bay |
|
|
|
Hoga Kusten (High Coast) Kramfors, Sweden |
1997 |
1,210 |
|
crosses Angerman River on scenic coastal route in northern Sweden |
|
|
|
Mackinac Mackinaw City-St. Ignace MI spans Mackinac Straits between upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan |
1957 |
1,158 |
|
CABLE-STAYED (STEEL) |
|
|
|
Tatara Onomichi-Imabari, Japan |
1999 |
890 |
|
part of western link between islands of Honshu and Shikoku |
|
|
|
Normandie near Le Havre, France |
1995 |
856 |
|
crosses Seine estuary between upper and lower Normandy |
|
|
|
Nanjing Yangtze Sanqiao Nanjing, China |
2005 |
648 |
|
world’s third longest cable-stayed bridge |
|
|
|
Nancha Nanjing, China |
2001 |
628 |
|
southern span of Second Nanjing Yangtze Bridge |
|
|
|
Wuhan Baishazhou Hubei province, China |
2000 |
618 |
|
provides third crossing of Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) in city of Wuhan |
|
|
|
Rion-Antirion near Patrai, Greece (Gulf of Corinth) |
2004 |
560 |
|
world’s second largest cable-stayed bridge |
|
|
|
Millau Viaduct Tarn Gorge, France |
2004 |
342 |
|
world’s highest bridge (270 m) and longest cable-stayed bridge (2,460 m) |
|
|
|
ARCH |
|
|
|
steel |
|
|
|
Lupu Shanghai, China |
2003 |
550 |
|
crosses Huangpujiang (Huang-p’u River) between central Shanghai and Pudong New District |
|
|
|
New River Gorge Fayetteville WV |
1977 |
518 |
|
provides road link through scenic New River Gorge National River area |
|
|
|
Bayonne Bayonne NJ-New York NY |
1931 |
504 |
|
spans the Kill Van Kull between New Jersey and Staten Island |
|
|
|
Sydney Harbour Sydney, NSW, Australia |
1932 |
503 |
|
links the City of Sydney with North Sydney |
|
|
|
concrete |
|
|
|
Wanxian Sichuan province, China crosses Chang Jiang (Yangtze River) in Three Gorges area |
1997 |
420 |
|
Krk I Krk Island, Croatia |
1980 |
390 |
|
links scenic Krk Island with mainland Croatia |
|
|
|
Jiangjiehe Guizhou province, China spans gorge of Wujiang (Wu River) |
1995 |
330 |
|
CANTILEVER |
|
|
|
steel truss |
|
|
|
Pont de Quebec Quebec City, QC, Canada |
1917 |
549 |
|
provides rail crossing over St. Lawrence River |
|
|
|
Forth Queensferry, Scotland |
1890 |
2 spans, |
|
provides rail crossing over Firth of Forth |
|
each 521 |
|
Minato Osaka-Amagasaki, Japan |
1974 |
510 |
|
carries road traffic across Osaka’s harbor |
|
|
|
Commodore John J. Barry Bridgeport NJ-Chester PA |
1974 |
501 |
|
provides road crossing over Delaware River |
|
|
Longest Span Structures in the World by Type
|
CANTILEVER |
YEAR OF |
MAIN |
|
prestressed concrete LOCATION |
COMPLETION |
SPAN (M) |
|
Shibanpo-2 Chongqing, China |
2006 |
336 |
|
world’s longest prestressed-concrete box girder bridge |
|
|
|
Stolmasundet Austevoll, Norway |
1998 |
301 |
|
links islands of Stolmen and Sjelborn south of Bergen |
|
|
|
Raftsundet Lofoten, Norway |
1998 |
298 |
|
crosses Raft Sound in arctic Lofoten Islands |
|
|
|
Sund0y Leirfjord, Norway |
2003 |
298 |
|
BEAM steel truss Ikitsuki Ohashi Nagasaki prefecture, Japan 1991 400 connects islands of Iki and Hirado off northwest Kyushu |
|
Astoria Astoria OR 1966 376 |
|
carries Pacific Coast Highway across Columbia River between Oregon and Washington Francis Scott Key Baltimore MD 1977 366 |
|
spans Patapsco River at Baltimore Harbor Oshima Yamaguchi prefecture, Japan 1976 325 links Yanai City and Oshima Island steel plate and box girder |
|
Presidente Costa e Silva Rio de Janeiro state, Brazil 1974 300 crosses Guanabara Bay between Rio de Janeiro and suburb of Niteroi |
|
Neckartalbrucke-1 Weitingen, Germany 1978 263 carries highway across Neckar River Valley |
|
Brankova Belgrade, Serbia 1956 261 provides road crossing of Sava River between Old and New Belgrade |
|
Ponte de Vitoria-3 Espirito Santo state, Brazil 1989 260 provides road link to state capital on Vitoria Island |
|
MOVABLE vertical lift Arthur Kill Elizabeth NJ-New York NY 1959 170 provides rail link between port of Elizabeth and Staten Island |
|
Cape Cod Canal Cape Cod MA 1935 166 provides rail crossing over waterway near Buzzard’s Bay |
|
Delair Delair NJ-Philadelphia PA 1960 165 provides rail link across Delaware River between Philadelphia and South Jersey shore |
|
Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial New York NY 1937 165 carries road traffic over mouth of Jamaica Bay between Brooklyn and the Rockaways, Queens swing span |
|
Al-Firdan (El-Ferdan) Suez Canal, Egypt 2001 340 provides road and rail link between Sinai Peninsula and eastern Nile Delta region |
|
Santa Fe Fort Madison IA-Niota IL 1927 160 provides road and rail crossing of Mississippi River |
|
BASCULE South Capitol Street/Frederick Washington DC 1949 118 Douglass Memorial carries road traffic over Anacostia River |
|
SaultSainte Marie Sault Sainte Marie MI-Ontario, Canada 1941 102 connects rail systems of United States and Canada Charles Berry Lorain OH 1940 101 |
|
carries road traffic over Black River Market Street/Chief John Ross Chattanooga TN 1917 94 carries road traffic over Tennessee River |
|
Causeways (fixed link over water only) Lake Pontchartrain-2 Metairie-Mandeville LA 1969 38,422 carries northbound road traffic from suburbs of New Orleans to north lakeshore |
|
Lake Pontchartrain-1 Mandeville-Metairie LA 1956 38,352 carries southbound road traffic from north lakeshore to suburbs of New Orleans King Fahd Causeway Bahrain-Saudi Arabia 1986 24,950 |
|
carries road traffic across Gulf of Bahrain in Persian Gulf Confederation Bridge Borden-Carleton, PE-Cape Jourimain, NB, 1997 12,900 carries road traffic over Canada Northumberland Strait |
Longest Tunnels in the World
|
TUNNEL LOCATION LENGTH IN KM (MI) COMPLETED USE Seikan Japan 53.9 (33.5) 1988 railway passes under the Tsugaru Strait between islands of Honshu and Hokkaido |
|
Channel Tunnel (Eurotunnel) UK-France 50.5(31.4) 1994 railway passes under English Channel between Folkestone (UK) and Sangatte (France) |
|
Lotschberg Base Switzerland 34.6 (21.5) 2007 railway world’s longest land tunnel (under Alps between Frutigen and Raron) |
|
Guadarrama Spain 28.4 (17.6) 2007 railway on high-speed rail line between Madrid and Valladolid |
|
Iwate-Ichinohe Japan 25.8 (15.7) 2002 railway carries Tohoku high-speed line through mountains between Tokyo and northern Honshu L^rdal Norway 24.5 (15.3) 2000 highway |
|
carries main cross-country highway through mountains in central Norway Dai-Shimizu Japan 22.2 (13.8) 1982 railway |
|
on Joetsu “Bullet” Line across Honshu between Tokyo and Niigata Wushaoling I and II (dual-bore) China 21.0(13.1) 2006 railway between Lanzhou and Wuwei |
|
Simplon I Italy-Switzerland 19.8 (12.3) 1906 railway |
|
Simplon II Italy-Switzerland 19.8 (12.3) 1922 railway rail links under Simplon Pass, traditional divide between northern and southern Europe |
|
Vereina Switzerland 19.1(11.9) 1999 railway rail link under Fluela Pass between upper Rhine and lower Engadin valleys |
|
Shin-Kanmon Japan 18.7 (11.6) 1975 railway carries Sanyo high-speed line under Kanmon Strait between islands of Honshu and Kyushu |
|
Great Apennine Italy 18.5 (11.5) 1934 railway rail link through mountains between Bologna and Florence |
|
Qinling China 18.5 (11.5) 2001 railway traverses Qinling (Tsinling) Mountains, historic barrier between northern and southern China Zhongnanshan China 18.0 (11.2) 2007 highway world’s longest double-tube four-lane highway tunnel St. Gotthard Switzerland 16.9 (10.5) 1980 highway links Uri and Ticino cantons under St. Gotthard Pass Rokko Japan 16.3 (10.1) 1972 railway |
|
carries Sanyo high-speed line through Rokko Mountains near Kobe Furka Switzerland 15.4 (9.6) 1982 railway |
|
carries scenic Glacier Express Line under Furka Pass Haruna Japan 15.4 (9.6) 1982 railway |
|
on Joetsu “Bullet” Line across Honshu between Tokyo and Niigata Severomuyskiy Russia 15.3 (9.5) 2001 railway on the Baikal-Amur Line to the northeast of Lake Baikal |
Longest Tunnels in the World
|
TUNNEL LOCATION LENGTH IN KM (MI) |
COMPLETED |
USE |
|
Gorigamine Japan 15.2 (9.4) |
1997 |
railway |
|
on the Hokuriku high-speed line between Takasaki and Nagano |
|
|
|
Monte Santomarco Italy 15.0 (9.3) |
1987 |
railway |
|
tunnel in Calabria between Paola and Cosenza |
|
|
|
St. Gotthard Switzerland 15.0 (9.3) |
1882 |
railway |
|
carries Luzern-Milan line under St. Gotthard Pass between Uri and Ticino cantons |
|
|
|
Nakayama Japan 14.9 (9.2) |
1982 |
railway |
|
on Joetsu “Bullet” Line across Honshu between Tokyo and Niigata |
|
|
|
Mount MacDonald BC, Canada 14.7(9.2) |
1988 |
railway |
|
longest tunnel in Western Hemisphere; in Canada’s Glacier National Park |
|
|
Largest Dams in the World
|
|
|
DATE OF |
|
|
|
|
NAME |
TYPE1 |
COMPLETION |
RIVER |
COUNTRY |
|
|
by height |
|
|
|
|
height (m) |
|
Nurek |
E |
1980 |
Vakhsh |
Tajikistan |
300 |
|
Grand Dixence |
G |
1961 |
Dixence |
Switzerland |
285 |
|
Inguri |
A |
1980 |
Inguri |
Georgia |
272 |
|
Vaiont1 |
A |
1961 |
Vaiont |
Italy |
262 |
|
Chicoasen |
ER |
1980 |
Grijalva |
Mexico |
261 |
|
Tehri |
ER |
20022 |
Bhagirathi |
India |
261 |
|
Mauvoisin |
A |
1957 |
Drance de Bagnes |
Switzerland |
250 |
|
by volume |
|
\ |
\ |
|
volume (’000 cubic m) |
|
Syncrude Tailings |
E |
N/A |
3 |
Canada |
540,000 |
|
New Cornelia Tailings |
E |
1973 |
Ten Mile Wash |
US |
209,500 |
|
Tarbela |
ER |
1976 |
Indus |
Pakistan |
106,000 |
|
Fort Peck |
E |
1937 |
Missouri |
US |
96,050 |
|
Lower Usuma |
E |
1990 |
Usuma |
Nigeria |
93,000 |
|
Tucurui |
EGR |
1984 |
Tocantins |
Brazil |
85,200 |
|
Ataturk |
ER |
1990 |
Euphrates |
Turkey |
84,500 |
|
\ |
|
|
|
|
reservoir capacity |
|
by size of reservoir |
|
|
|
|
(’000 cubic m) |
|
Owen Falls |
G |
1954 |
Victoria Nile |
Uganda |
2,700,000,000 |
|
Kakhovsk |
EG |
1955 |
Dnieper |
Ukraine |
182,000,000 |
|
Kariba |
A |
1959 |
Zambezi |
Zimbabwe- |
Zambia 180,600,000 |
|
Bratsk |
EG |
1964 |
Angara |
Russia |
169,270,000 |
|
Aswan High |
ER |
1970 |
Nile |
Egypt |
168,900,000 |
|
Akosombo |
ER |
1965 |
Volta |
Ghana |
153,000,000 |
|
Daniel Johnson |
M |
1968 |
Manicouagan |
Canada |
141,852,000 |
|
Guri (Raul Leoni) |
EGR |
1986 |
Caronf |
Venezuela |
138,000,000 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
power capacity |
|
by power capacity |
|
|
|
|
(megawatts) |
|
Itaipu |
EGR |
1983 |
Parana |
Brazil-Paraguay |
13,320 |
|
Guri (Raul Leoni) |
EGR |
1986 |
Caronf |
Venezuela |
10,055 |
|
Grand Coulee |
G |
1942 |
Columbia |
US |
6,809 |
|
Sayano-Shushenskoye |
GA |
1989 |
Yenisey |
Russia |
6,400 |
|
Krasnoyarsk |
G |
1968 |
Yenisey |
Russia |
6,000 |
|
Churchill Falls |
E |
1971 |
Churchill |
Canada |
5,428 |
|
La Grande 2 |
R |
1979 |
LaGrande |
Canada |
5,328 |
|
Three Gorges |
G |
2003 |
Yangtze |
China |
4,970 |
Notable Civil Engineering Projects (in progress or completed as of July 2008)
|
NAME |
LOCATION |
YEAR OF COMPLETION |
NOTES |
|
airports |
terminal area (sq m) |
|
|
|
Beijing Capital (new Terminal 3) |
northeast of Beijing 904,000 |
2008 |
Opened 29 Feb 2008; the world’s largest building |
|
Changi (new Terminal 3) |
mostly on landfill at 380,000 |
2008 |
Opened 9 Jan 2008; new |
|
|
eastern tip of Singapore |
|
terminal in Asia’s 6th busiest airport in passenger traffic |
|
Heathrow (new Terminal 5 |
southwest of “70,000″ |
2008 |
Opened 14 Mar 2008; |
|
complex) |
London |
\ |
includes world’s 1st personal rapid-transit system |
|
bridges |
length |
|
|
|
|
(main span; m) |
|
|
|
Manifa Causeway |
in Persian Gulf 41 km offshore of Manifa, (total Saudi Arabia causeway length) |
2011 |
Includes 20 km of laterals from main causeway to drilling islands; will enable massive oilfield redevelopment |
|
Hangzhou Bay Transoceanic |
nearJiaxing, 36 km China-near Cixi, China |
2008 |
Opened 1 May 2008; S-shaped; world’s longest transoceanic bridge/causeway |
|
Sutong |
Nantong, China 1,088 (100 km from Yangtze mouth) |
2008 |
Opened 25 May 2008; cable-stayed bridge; set world records for length of main span and height of main bridge tower |
|
buildings |
height (m) |
|
|
|
Burj (“Tower”) Dubai |
Dubai, UAE 643 |
2009 |
To be world’s tallest building; |
|
|
|
|
world’s tallest structure from 13 Sep 2007 |
|
Russia Tower |
Moscow 612 |
2012 |
Construction began 18Sep 2007; to be world’s 2nd tallest building upon completion |
|
Chicago Spire |
Chicago 2,000 ft (609.6 m) |
2011 |
Construction began 25 Jun 2007; will be North Ameri-ica’s tallest structure and the world’s tallest all-residential building |
|
dams and hydrologic projects |
crest length (m) |
|
|
|
St. Petersburg Flood Protection Barrier |
Gulf of Finland 25,400 embankment, Russia (Gorskaya-Bronka via Kotlin Island) |
2008 |
To protect city from tidal storm surges; incorporates discharge sluices and navigation channels; begun 1980, halted 1987, resumed 2003 |
|
Three Gorges (3rd of 3 phases) |
westofYichang, 2,309 China |
2007 |
Final stage completed 21 Dec 2007; created world’s largest reservoir (660 km long) and world’s largest hydroelectric complex by power capacity |
|
Sardar Sarovar (Narmada) Project |
Narmada River, 1,210 Madhya Pradesh, India |
2009 |
Largest dam of controversial 30-dam project; drinking and irrigation water for Gujarat |
|
highways |
length (km) |
|
|
|
Interoceanic Highway |
Inapari-Ilo/Matarani/ 2,603 |
2009 |
To be paved road for Brazilian |
|
|
San Juan de Marcona, Peru |
|
imports/exports from/to Asia via 3 Peruvian ports |
|
East-West Economic Corridor |
Danang, Vietnam- 1,450 Moulmein, Myanmar (via Laos and Thailand) |
2008 |
All-weather gravel road linking the Pacific and Indian oceans; economic development of remote areas expected |
|
Highway 1 |
Kabul-Kandahar- 1,048 Herat, Afghanistan |
2008 |
Final, 556-km Kandahar-Herat section 81% completed by August 2007; remaining section stalled owing to security concerns |
Notable Civil Engineering Projects (in progress or completed as of July 2008)
|
NAME land reclamation, canal Palm Jumeirah |
LOCATION area (sq km) in Persian Gulf, c. 25 off Dubai, UAE |
YEAR OF COMPLETION 2012 |
NOTES Phase I residence handover began 2006; land of 3 other Persian Gulf developments was partially to mostly reclaimed in late 2007 |
|
Panama Canal Expansion |
between Panama City and Colon |
2014 |
Will include new wider and longer 3-chamber locks |
|
railways (heavy) Benguela Railway (rehabilitation; closed 1975-2002) |
length (km) Benguela-Luau, Angola 1,301 (at Democratic Republic of the Congo border) |
2010 |
Chinese-financed rehabilitation will enable resumption of copper exports from the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Zambia |
|
Xinqiu-Bayan UI Railway North-South Railway (in part) |
Xinqiu, Liaoning-Bayan 487 UI, Inner Mongolia, China Araguafna, Tocantins- 361 Palmas, Tocantins, Brazil |
2010 2009 |
To be used for coal transport; future link to Mongolia planned Rail exports of agriculture, forestry, and mineral products from vast area of interior north Brazil expected |
|
railways (high speed) Spanish high speed |
length (km) Madrid to France 719 (via Barcelona) |
2009 |
Operational to Barcelona suburbs from mid-2007 |
|
Turkey high speed Beijing-Tianjin high speed |
Ankara-Istanbul 533 Beijing-Tianjin, 115 China |
2010 2008 |
To connect capital with largest city Opened 1 Aug 2008; improves country’s transportation system for 2008 Olympic Games |
|
subways/metros/light rails Delhi Metro (Phase II) |
length (km) Delhi 118.6 |
2010 |
Many extensions/new lines under construction between 2007 and 2010 |
|
Shanghai Metro |
Shanghai 96.0 |
2007 |
Distance is for length of 3 new lines and 2 extensions; all operational on 29 Dec 2007 |
|
Dubai Metro (Red/Green lines) |
Dubai, UAE 69.7 |
2009/2010 |
To be world’s longest driverless transport system |
|
tunnels Apennine Range tunnels (9) |
length (m) Bologna-Florence 73,400 (high-speed railway) |
2008 |
Longest tunnel (Vaglia, 18.6 km); tunnels to cover 93% of line |
|
Lotschberg #2 |
Frutigen-Raron, 34,577 Switzerland |
2007 |
Opened 15 Jun 2007 for freight traffic and 9 Dec 2007 for passengers; world’s 3rd longest rail tunnel |
|
Eiksund |
0rstan-Hareid, Norway 7,797 |
2007 |
Breakthrough 1 Feb 2007; world’s deepest underwater tunnel (287 m under water surface) |
|
miscellaneous East Africa Submarine Cable System |
length (km) western Indian 13,700 Ocean between South Africa and The Sudan |
2009 |
To be 1st underwater fiberoptic cable in Indian Ocean, providing Internet and communications services to 250 million people in Africa |
|
Svalbard Global Seed Vault |
near Longyearbyen, — Spitsbergen, in the Norwegian Arctic |
2008 |
Capable of storing 3 million seeds in perpetuity and guarding them against disease, war, and other catastrophes; opened 26 Feb 2008 |
