I am constantly amazed by the engineering feats of mere mortals, from the simple (and yet incredibly hard-to-build) suspension bridge, to skyscrapers to ANY city’s underground train or subway system.
Perhaps the most phenomenal project is the so-called “Chunnel", the tunnel that connects the UK with France-under the English Channel!
First thought of by Napoleon’s engineer in 1802, there was an actual attempt in 1880 by Colonel Beaumont, who made it about a mile down before abandoning the project.
At a cost of $16 Billion dollars, it was twice the amount of the original budget and took seven years to build. It opened on this date in 1994.
Millions of tons of earth was moved, 15 thousand people were employed during the construction-and 10 people lost their lives in the making of this modern marvel.
Below is a short video about the project:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1AcpNwY0LI
Each day, about 30, 000 people move through the Chunnel on 6,000 cars & 3,500 trucks on trains! It is the worlds’ longest underwater tunnel (obviously), with more than 22 miles of it under the English Channel. Now, the trip takes 35 minutes!
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