The most massive constructions in the world

Huge architectures at a cost of billions of dollars show the extraordinary ability of people. With ingenuity, intelligence and advanced technology, mankind has created great wonders that seem to exist only in imagination.

International Space Station (ISS)

ISS is a complex of works for space research, developed in cooperation with five space agencies: NASA (USA), RKA (Russia), JAXA (Japan), CSA (Canada). and 10 of the 17 member states of ESA (European Space Agency). It is reported that China also expressed their interest in the project, especially if they were allowed to cooperate with RKA, but the country was not invited.

Since 2007, ISS has become the largest artificial satellite in Earth orbit, larger than any other space station. This is also the only space station with permanent people, conducting research work.Expedition space crew 1 is the first astronaut group to the International Space Station on November 2, 2000. This is the first step in the ISS plan to bring people to work long-term. To date, ISS has welcomed astronauts from 14 different countries, including 5 cosmonauts.

This work is so massive that one can observe it with the naked eye from the ground. It is also the most expensive project in the history of space research, only in the United States, the government has paid ISS 100 billion USD.

Three Gorges Dam

Being evaluated as the Great Wall of the Great River on the Yangtze River, is a symbol of pride, pride and a strong demonstration that humans can conquer nature no matter how difficult it is. A project takes more than 90 years of planning and was completed in 2009 after 15 years of hard work of 20,000 workers. That is the Tam Hiep dam, the largest hydroelectric project in the world.

The dam is 182m high, creating a 660km long reservoir. A total of 13 cities, 4,500 villages, 162 archaeological sites were sunk, nearly 1.5 million people had to move from their residence. Construction funding is reported to be $ 25 billion, but many experts believe that the real figure must be doubled.

After the dam is completed and put into use, the Chinese government faces new difficulties to address such as relocation of people, protection and prevention of environmental and ecological disasters. .

Big Dig

After nearly 15 years of construction, the most complex and most expensive public construction project in US history, with a total cost of $ 14.6 billion, went into operation in 2005. This project is an effort. of the capital city of Boston (state of Massachusset, USA) to definitely solve the chronic traffic congestion here .

In 1991, this 'century project' was built, called ' Big Dig'.

A total of 260 km of new highways were built, including half running underground, the rest mostly overhead. The lowest section is 36 meters deep under the ground, the highest section is 40 meters above the ground, the top of a tower bridge is even 70 meters high.

The biggest problem with Big Dig is the construction of underground sections in the city, because they have to run under busy roads above, or under buildings or a series of building systems. Other underground. In order not to affect them, one must build so-called ' Slurry Walls ' - special partitions from thick concrete blocks.

Where 'Slurry Walls' does not work, the land there is hardened: people put pipes in the ground, then inject cold salt solution until the whole area hardens like a giant iceberg, then drill the rock to put the prefabricated blocks into the ground.

Another remarkable achievement of Big Dig is Leonard P. Zakim bridge, the world's largest cable-stayed suspension bridge (10 lanes).

That's why, according to the original plan, Big Dig will be completed in 1998 with a total budget of US $ 2.6 billion, but eventually it will be completed until 2005 at a cost of up to 14 , 6 billion USD!

Arabian Canal (Dubai)

The construction projects in the Dubai kingdom are very "monumental" in terms of stature and daring of ideas, not beyond that characteristic, the project of building a 75km Dubai Canal worth 11 billion USD is considered a canal. The largest in the Middle East since the Suez Canal (163km long) was started in 1859.

With a width of 150m, depth of 6m, this canal allows ships up to 40m in length to easily circulate.

Saeed, the chief executive of Limitless , the company that developed the project, said the canal would connect Dubai's two palm-shaped giant artificial islands currently under construction. In addition, the canal also bypasses the new international airport Al-Maktoum, which is expected to be the world's largest airport after completion.

In parallel with the canal, the Dubai government also spent $ 50 billion to build high-class cities along the canal.Limitless 's director proudly said that when completed, the Arabian Canal will certainly be a wonder of the construction industry.

Panama Canal

Many people have called the Panama Canal the 8th wonder of the world. This is a canal across the Isthmus of Panama in Central America, connecting the Atlantic to the Pacific. The construction of this canal is one of the largest and most difficult construction projects ever done. It has a great influence on transport between the two oceans, eliminating long and dangerous journeys through the Drake Strait and Cape Horn in the southernmost point of South America.

Although the idea of ​​a canal in Panama dates back to the early 16th century, the first attempt to build this canal was only in 1880 under French leadership. After this attempt to collapse, this work was eventually completed by the United States and the canal opened in 1914. The construction of 77 km of canal lengths encountered obstacles, including plague and landslides. An estimated 27,500 workers died during the construction of the canal.

The maximum size of boats that can use the canal is called Panamax. Currently, an increasing number of modern vessels exceed this limit, so people are planning to expand this canal to serve the growing demand of shipping.

The $ 5 billion Panama Canal Expansion Project was officially started in 2007. This is the largest upgrade and expansion project since this canal was put into use. 93 years.

Project of a tunnel through the Bering Strait

The idea of ​​building a tunnel through the Bering Strait connecting the continent of Asia - Europe and North America with a transcontinental railroad was born more than 100 years ago. So far, traveling from Russia to the United States has only been done by air or by water. However, scientists on both sides of the ocean claim that, in addition to air and sea, there will be more railways and roads. To do this, just connect Chukhotka (Russia side) and Alaska (USA) by a tunnel through the Bering Strait. What makes people doubt that implementing this plan requires a huge cost (estimated at $ 200 billion). The tunnel will not only be a traffic corridor, but in the tunnel will also install a power line, so that the two largest energy systems in the world will be linked together. In the Sibéri region of Russia there is a surplus of electricity generation capacity and Russia can trade successfully with this item. Of course, the information line will be installed in the tunnel, and maybe gas and oil. This is very interesting to Americans.

Why build a tunnel and not a bridge? Because cold temperatures in this area will limit traffic by bridge during 7 months of the year. However, another major difficulty in implementing this project, is the harsh weather conditions that make construction possible only in 4-5 months of the year.

Trans-Atlantic road

This is part of the project (still at the theoretical stage) ambitious: opening roads connecting continents. This tunnel will travel across the Atlantic Ocean, connecting North America and Europe, and being able to meet some types of public transport such as trains or high-speed trains. If applying the most modern technologies, the maximum speed calculated can be up to 500-8,000 km / hour. However, so far this project has not been really researched and developed. One of the biggest hurdles is the cost of construction - expected to cost between $ 175 billion and $ 12 trillion, plus current material science limitations.

City on 'clouds'

With the challenges of population and accommodation in big cities today, the idea of ​​building these cities does not attract the attention of many people.

Theoretically, these aerial cities will reduce the population density in big cities; and the architects and engineers who are passionate about this idea are trying to make this bold idea a reality.

In 1989, Japanese construction group Takenaka proposed a project to build an aerial city called Sky City 1000. The project consists of a 1,000-meter-high building, a 400-meter-wide basement, and a total area of floor to 8 square kilometers. Sky City 1000 can meet the accommodation needs of about 36,000 permanent residents and about 100,000 people working in office areas. According to a report by the Council of High-rise Buildings and Urban Living Environment (USA), in the future about 20 years, the 'cities' like Sky City 1000 can step from the idea to reality.