Great Engineering Feats

7/25/2019 Great Engineering Feats

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Channel Tunnel The astounding feats of engineers are what first draw many to the profession.

Whether it is forging the Suez Canal or building a motor the size of a flea, engineersdream of conquering the great "impossibilities." That dream became a reality formechanical engineer ohn !eerhout who in ##$ seized his opportunity to achie%ethe impossible. &e was as'ed to ta'e o%er as pro(ect chief e)ecuti%e for constructionof a double railway tunnel scheme for a Channel Tunnel *Chunnel+, a fi)ed lin' (oining

rance and -ngland across the -nglish Channel. wned by -urotunnel, the %isionary pro(ect had been plagued by se%ere cost,

schedule and safety problems. The operation was incredibly comple). /in'ing twocountries, the pro(ect required wor'ing in two languages with two go%ernments0 twosets of national construction, safety and legal codes0 $ contractors0 and 11$syndicate ban's. 2y all accounts, !eerhout3s leadership, technical 'now4how andmanagement turned the pro(ect around. Today the 514mile "Chunnel" is anengineering wonder. Completed at a cost of 61 billion, it is the world3s largest

pri%ately financed engineering endea%or.

http788www.teachingtools.com8Slin'y8tunnel.html


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Golden Gate Bridge This famous bridge isn3t named for its color, but for the entrance to San

rancisco 2ay, which was dubbed the "9olden 9ate" some :$ years agoby prospectors who passed through it on their way to California3s gold fields.

The color, called international orange, was chosen by consulting architect;r%ing @: feet+. Today people can wal' across the east side of the bridge or cycle

across the west side during daylight hours. To learn more about the 9olden 9ate, go to www.goldengatebridge.org.

http788www.teachingtools.com8Slin'y8golden.html
http://www.goldengatebridge.org/http://www.goldengatebridge.org/


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Panama Canal Truly one of the great engineering feats of all time, the Aanama Canal was designed

at the turn of the 1$th century and has been operating since #@. ;t is :$.>1 mileslong, some of it hewn from solid roc', and gi%es passage to all types of %essels, fromhuge tan'ers to the Bueen -lizabeth ;;.

canal across Central merica fulfilled dreams of a short route from tlantic toAacific ports by allowing ships to enter the Aacific cean without tra%eling entirelyaround South merica.

The Dnited States built the canal at a cost of about 65E$ million. Thousands oflaborers wor'ed on it for about $ years, using steam sho%els and dredges to cutthrough (ungles, hills and swamps. They remo%ed 1 million cubic yards of earth androc' and had to conquer malaria and yellow fe%er.

The canal has three sets of water4filled chambers *loc's+, which raise and lower shipsfrom one le%el to another. The loc's were built in pairs to allow ships to pass through

in both directions at the same time. The Dnited States has controlled the AanamaCanal Fone and the canal since #$5. &owe%er, a treaty appro%ed by Aanama3s%oters in #>> and by the D.S. Senate in #>E will gi%e Aanama control of the canalon Gec. 5, ###.

http788www.teachingtools.com8Slin'y8panama.html


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Eiffel Tower nother undisputed great engineering feat is the -iffel Tower, a

huge wrought4iron s'eleton in Aaris. le)andre 9usta%e -iffeldesigned the #E@4foot tower for the e)position of EE#.

The -iffel Tower contains about >,$$$ short tons of iron and steel

and cost more than 6 million. or many years, it was the higheststructure in the world and ser%ed as an important militaryobser%ation station during World War ;. Since #:5 it has been usedto transmit tele%ision programs.

http788www.teachingtools.com8Slin'y8eiffel.html


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Great Wall of China ne of the most famous structures in the world

can be found to the northwest and north of2ei(ing, China. Said to be %isible from the moon,

the 9reat Wall is the longest fortified line e%erbuilt. ;t zigzags to the east and west along themountains, stretching more than ,:$$ miles.

Construction of the 9reat Wall began in the >thcentury 2.C. ;t stands about 1: feet high andhas @$4foot towers built into it e%ery 1$$ to 5$$

yards. The wall tapers from a 1:4foot base toabout : feet at the top. ;ts sides are made ofearth, bric' and stone, while the top is pa%edwith bric's set in lime, forming a roadway forhorsemen. The 9reat Wall was built entirely byhand and too' hundreds of years to complete.

http788www.teachingtools.com8Slin'y8china.html


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Roman Aqueducts 9ood architects and engineers combine the needs of human beings

with qualities of intellect and imagination, as well as technicale)pertise to create functional structures that also are wor's of art.or e)ample, ancient Homan aqueducts pro%ided the functionof

transporting water in the formof simple, yet elegant, layered arches. n aqueduct is an artificial channel through which water isconducted to the place where it is used.


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Roman Colosseum The Colosseum, which stands near the center of present4day Home, is perhaps the

finest sur%i%ing e)ample of ancient Homan architectural engineering. ne of the mostfamous ruins in the world, thousands of tourists %isit it e%ery year.

The Colosseum is shaped li'e a modern football stadium and could seat @:,$$$spectators. The four4story facility is = feet high, about =$$ feet long and :$$ feetwide. -%ents such as fights between gladiators and between men and wild animals

were held there. wnings could be hung from the walls to protect spectators from thesun.

The o%al4shaped, sand4co%ered floor of the arena originally could be flooded for waterspectacles. /ater, howe%er, cages for people and animals were installed beneath thearena. wall separated the arena from spectators whose seats rested on slopingconcrete supports as in many stadiums today.

Construction of the Colosseum started during the reign of -mperor Iespasian, who

ruled from .G. =# to >#. Construction was completed in .G. E$. http788www.teachingtools.com8Slin'y8colosseum.html


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Stonehenge This ancient monument of huge, rough4cut stones standing alone on the Salisbury

Alain in Wiltshire, -ngland, has captured imaginations for centuries. !o one 'nowse)actly who placed them there or why. Speculation ranges from human sacrifice toastronomy. ;t seems to ha%e been designed to allow obser%ation of astronomicalphenomena44summer and winter solstices, eclipses and more.

Stonehenge was built in three stages from about 5$$$ to E$$ 2.C. The first stage

was a circular earth formation0 the second consisted of timber being added to thecircle0 and the third stage was constructed of bluestones. Two hundred to 5$$ yearslater, the sarsenstones were added. These are taller than the bluestones and formthe upside4down "u" now seen.

Aerhaps the most impressi%e part of Stonehenge is how it was built. The first phase,the ditch around Stonehenge, was dug using antlers, bones and e%en bare hands.The bluestones, which weighed four tons each, came from o%er 1@$ miles away. Theyhad to be floated by boat then carried across land. The hea%iest sarsen stoneweighed :$ tons and would ha%e had to be dragged along by :$$ people. -%en if =$$people had been wor'ing continuously, it would ha%e ta'en more than a year tocomplete. or hundreds of years, the great stones of Stonehenge gradually fell, orpeople carried them away to ma'e bridges and mill dams.

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Washington Monument This great obeliskwas built in honor of 9eorge Washington and stands in

Washington, G.C., near the Aotomac Hi%er about halfway between the Capitol andthe /incoln , EE$, and was completed Gec. =, EE@, at a total cost of 6.1 million. Themonument was dedicated in EE: and opened to the public in EEE. Today it ismaintained as a national memorial by the !ational Aar' Ser%ice.

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Great Engineering Feats