10 Most Expensive Engineering Projects of All Time [Infographic]
When builders raised the Eiffel Tower, society was astonished. Today, that beautiful structure pales in comparison to today’s megaprojects.
It’s human nature to try to accomplish the impossible. Engineers have built a tunnel under the English Channel, facilitated a flight to the moon as well as designed and built the United States Interstate Highway System that countless consumers and enterprises rely on every day. Even more amazing is that engineers have conceptualized and constructed Earth-orbiting dwellings such as the International Space Station.
It takes a perfect storm of circumstances and needs for engineers to breathe a megaproject concept into existence. There’s no cookie-cutter recipe for conceptualizing the perfect and most expensive megaprojects. Each mega-construct is unique, custom designed and must pass a rigorous gauntlet of bureaucratic red tape and public criticisms before it even makes it to the drawing board.
Money – and a lot of it – has allowed engineers to design, build and move structures remarkably fast. Megaproject engineers assume huge risks by embracing the unknown and leading projects that could result in massive cost overruns. Nevertheless, the world’s megaprojects have resulted in some of the most remarkable accomplishments ever witnessed.
Around the globe, expensive megaprojects are a testament to what’s possible with a massive influx of money. The budget required to erect a megastructure is unfathomable for the average person, but at the same time, these demonstrations of mankind’s ingenuity allow people to live in familiar comfort.
Globally, megaprojects are servicing the public while at the same time stretching the boundaries of the human imagination. Buildings are reaching higher, and cities are spreading wider. If an engineer can conceive a project – and the space to build it exists – securing money to complete the build is the only remaining obstacle for making dreams a reality.
Developed by the Norwich University Online Master of Civil Engineering program.
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