Civil Engineering Wonders

1) The Panama Canal is one of civil engineering’s greatest triumphs in which more than 42,000 workers played there role.

2) They moved enough earth and rubble to bury the island of Manhattan to a depth of 12 ft. — or enough to open a 16-ft.-wide tunnel to the center of the Earth.

3) The canal was finished on time and within budget. But after completion, a challenge remained: how to tame the flood waters of Chagres River. Civil engineers erected a dam that formed the world’s then-largest man-made lake.

4) Today the Canal operates much as it did in 1914. In each transit, 52 million gallons of fresh water is lost, but it is quickly replaced by Panama’s heavy rainfall. The canal remains a marvelous wonder constructed with the combined skills of structural, geotechnical, hydraulic and sanitary engineers.

1) One of the world’s tallest free-standing having height 1,815 ft.

2) It was erected at an amazing rate of 18 ft. per day. During construction, concrete flowed from the bottom of the tower as it ascended, while aircraft-type bombsights kept the tower plumb as it went up.

3) The CN Tower can withstand 260-mph gusts.

4) The Sky Pod, a seven-story structure 1,100 ft. high, was built around the base of the tower and jacked into place as one unit. A pair of 10-ton counterweights is attached to the mast to keep the tower from swaying too much.

5) A Sikorsky helicopter hoisted the crowning antenna, for which the tower was originally erected. FM radio signals are broadcast from the base of the antenna, while television signals are sent from the top. Presently, 16 of Toronto’s media signals are transmitted from the tower.

Click here to check out the pictures of other skyscrapers

1) The Channel Tunnel linked the Britain and the rest of Europe

2) Three concrete tubes each 5 ft. thick, plunge into the earth at Coquelles, France and make passage through the English Channel.

3) The passengers can board the two trains running at a speed greater than 100mph through these tubes.

4) Passengers board not on foot, but in automobiles and buses.

5) The third tube is used basically for maintenance and emergency vehicles.

6) It is one of the intelligent structures built with immense precision. Huge pistons open and close ducts, relieving the pressure that builds ahead of the train’s noses. Some 300miles of cold water piping run alongside the rail tracks to drain off the heat raised by air friction.

Important Points regarding this Dam are:-

1) Itaipu Dam is a five miles wide dam which spans the Parana River at the Brazil/Paraguay border.
2) 50 million tons of earth and rock were removed in the construction process for digging a 1.3-mile bypass.
3) The main dam, as high as a 65-story building, is composed of hollow concrete segments, while the flanking wings are earth and rock fill.
4) Powerhouse of this dam is half a mile long, half underwater and containing 18 hydroelectric generators each 53 ft. across. Some 160 tons of water per second pour onto each turbine, generating 12,600 mega watts –enough to power most of California.
5) Itaipu currently supplies 28 percent of all the electric energy in Brazil’s south, southeast and central-west regions, and 72 percent of Paraguay’s total energy consumption.
6) The steel used in this is enough to make 300 Eiffel tower.

Seven Wonders of the Modern World

According to the ASCE following civil engineering marvels are the wonders of the modern world:

1) Channel Tunnel (England & France)
2) CN Tower (Toronto)
3) Empire State Building (New York)
4) Golden Gate Bridge (San Francisco)
5) Itaipu Dam (Brazil/Paraguay)
6) Netherlands North Sea Protection Works (Netherlands)
7) Panama Canal (Panama)

Below are the seven wonders of the ancient world which shows the endless imagination and creativity of the CIVIL ENGINEERS. While only a few of the original wonders remain, the modern wonders represent civil engineering’s legacy to the 20th century.

The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World:

1) The Pyramids of Egypt
2) Hanging Gardens of Babylon
3) Statue of Zeus at Olympia
4) Colossus of Rhodes
5) Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
6) Mausoleum of Helicarnassus
7) Pharos (Lighthouse) of Alexandria