The Chunnel: 7th Wonder of The Modern World!

Building a simple bridge or road involves complex calculations and consideration of many variables to make a reality.

Still, that’s nothing compared to the tunnel that connected Great Britain and France under the English Channel, which opened on this date just 17 years ago in 1994. The so-called “Chunnel” was—and is an engineering marvel, a construction miracle and a game changer for Europe.

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.

Here’s the first segment of a great Discovery Channel program called “Super Structures”—you will be prompted (and tempted) at the end to watch the other four segments of this excellent chronicle of the project:




http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8-3IFEitW4&feature=related

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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