From constructing the world's longest coastal highway in Norway
to upgrading a research center in one of the coldest parts of the earth
and building a railway track in the exhausting heat of the deserts
to the second-largest man-made pit in the world,
here are some of the eye-opening construction projects that will blow your mind.
5. Norway's new Coastal Highway
Norway is a beautiful country having wonderful landscapes, towering mountains, and sky-kissing peaks that attract adventurers from across the globe.
But where there's a stunning landscape, there will be immense difficulties associated with traveling. For example,
if you want to travel from Kristiansand in the south to Bergen in the north, you'll probably need to drive for almost 21 hours,
and as a road user, you'll have to use seven different ferry crossings.
The rocky west coast of Norway is difficult to travel by car as it's a slow and time-consuming route.
Moreover, due to snow, severe winds, or high waves, the route is unpredictable.
So to improve this slow connection and boost the country's economy,
the Norwegian Government is constructing a 47 billion dollar coastal highway with fixed linkages between islands and the mainland that will make the western coast more accessible for residents, visitors, and goods transport. Once completed,
it will be the first highway in the world that will include floating bridges, floating tunnels,
and the longest and deepest subsea tunnel—the Rogfast tunnel.This tunnel is the world's first subsea tunnel. The construction started in 2018 and was expected to be completed in 2026
with a projected cost of almost 1.9 billion dollars. Unfortunately, cost overruns have delayed the project to at least 2031.
However, the most challenging task for the Norwegian Government is the Sognefjord crossing. The problem is that the Sognefjord is the largest and deepest Fjord in Norway
that is almost 3.7-km in width while it's 1.3-km in depth at its deepest point,
so dealing with this crossing without disturbing the water voyaging of a large number of ships was a staggering task
even for 21st-century civil engineering technology.
The preset rule says that every crossing should allow for a clear shipping lane of almost 400 meters wide and 90 meters deep with 70 meters above the water and no less than 20 meters below water.
To overcome this problem, the project engineers came up with many ideas for this Fjord crossing.
The very first idea was a suspension bridge that would cover the 3.7 km crossing.
A bridge needs supporting towers of almost 450 meters in height—
much higher than the Empire state building. However, if towers were built, they would have become the tallest bridge structure in the world.
The second idea for this Sognefjord crossing was the construction of a floating bridge.
But again, there was a need for enough height that would allow ships to pass.
Some construction companies also gave a concept of the submerged floating tunnel. This tunnel would have to be attached at either shore, kept 20 meters under the water's surface, and supported by pontoons with enough distance among them to allow ships to pass uninterrupted.
Indeed, the two central pontoons would have to be 400 meters apart from each other to allow for their passage.
The feasibility study anticipates constructing two parallel tubes that would run for 3.7 kilometers and be supported by 16 pontoons.
The construction of these tubes would require 400,000 cubic meters of concrete and 61,000 of steel. Each tube would have two lanes—one for traffic and the other for maintenance and emergencies.
4. The Rothera Research Station
In one the most hostile places in the world with temperatures ranging from 5oc to -20oc, the UK is currently constructing a massive 415 million dollar megaproject.
The Rothera Research Station is situated on Adelaide Island to the west of the Antarctic Peninsula.
And the most surprising thing is that all the machinery, equipment, and workers had to be shipped all the way from the UK to Antarctica—which is roughly a journey of 11,000 km.
The station will serve as the biggest British survey station for polar research.
The most important science project is the research on real-time climate change.
To deal with sudden climate changes, scientists are continuously monitoring the Antarctic weather and fauna.
This way, they'd be able to create a comprehensive model that will help to see the actual rise in sea level.
And with every passing year, more and more buildings are being constructed to facilitate the research activities.
The Rothera research center is now home to Bonner research laboratory, workshops, and a crushed rock runway. Apart from that,
Rothera supports a wide range of BAS, UK University, and international collaborative science programs,
including the Dirck Gerritsz laboratory that is operated by the Netherlands polar research program.
The station that was once a tiny place for hardly four people
is now home to almost 120 people working throughout the summer.
The living area provides all the facilities for staff such as a diving officer, a chef, a doctor, and a station management team.
Another method that the British Antarctic Survey employs is to send researchers on research ships.
The Royal Research Ships Ernest Shackleton and James Clark Ross are both red and white icebreakers.
As they go around the Antarctic Peninsula, these ships must break the ice.
3. The Etihad Railways
Now, it's time to check the Etihad railways project that will be the first national freight and passenger railway network connecting the seven emirates of the UAE.
Once completed, this 11 billion dollar megaproject will connect UAE to Saudi Arabia
through a 1200-km long track that will cover the Ghweifat region of Abu Dhabi to the Fujairah port of the east section.
The Etihad railways project was started in 2009 with goals to build and operate the railway infrastructure.
It will also play a critical role in the $100 billion Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) rail project.
The GCC railway network, which will connect the UAE with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Oman, will be completed by 2024.
As we know that all the GCC countries depend heavily on oil exports.
But unfortunately, the economic breakdown of 2008
and the COVID-19 terribly affected their growth,
forcing the GCC to come up with a solution
that will help them grow and sustain themselves in the ever-growing world.
For this purpose, all the GCC states are working on a 100 billion dollar rail network to connect their ports and industrial areas
As the Etihad railways project connects Saudi Arabia to UAE,
it possesses very extreme and rudest challenges like hot deserts, sand winds, and much more.
During the daytime, the temperature can reach up to 50-degree Celsius, making working almost impossible. So, the staff members are forced to work at night as the temperature gets nearly 30-degree Celsius which is relatively low.
Similarly, to overcome sand winds, they are growing trees across the railway track that will convert the sand into clay
and allow the infrastructure to bear the challenges. The project is divided into two stages.
The first stage consists of two tracks connecting the inland gas fields of Liwa and Shah to the port town of Ruwais that became operational in January 2016.
Once fully completed, this project will also help the country to reduce its carbon dioxide emission.
A single train journey is equivalent to removing 300 trucks on the roads, and it will reduce almost 70-80% of carbon dioxide emissions.
The work on stage two was started in 2020, and it will extend 605 kilometers from Ghuwaifat on the border with Saudi Arabia to Fujairah on the east coast.
New Caption
On the so-called roof of the world surrounded by some of the world's highest mountains, including Mount Everest,
China is building one of the most extreme railroads ever. For the first time in Tibet,
travelers can enjoy the area's mountainous views at high speed.
The complete project will include an 1800-km route that will connect Tibet's capital Lhasa to Chengdu through a high-speed electric train.
The project was divided into three stages, and two of them are already completed.
In the first stage, the 435-km track connected Lhasa with the city of Nyingchi, and it cost them almost 6 billion dollars.
This section of the project features 47 tunnels and 121 bridges to compensate for the altitude differences.
The Fuxing trains are equipped with automated oxygen supply systems to facilitate traveling at higher altitudes, which keep oxygen levels at a constant 23.6%
-- slightly higher than the 21% average found in normal atmospheres. Moreover,
the trains' windows are equipped with a special layer of glass designed to withstand the region's high UV levels.
As a result, passengers will be able to take in features of the Tibetan landscape, including the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon
and Nanga Bawa Peak, as they look out of the train window.
1. Diamond Mir Mine
Now, it's time to check out the most stunning project known as Diamond Mir mine.
Located in the Siberian region of Russia,
, it is an open-pit diamond mine that is more than 525 meters deep, has a diameter of 1,200 m, and is one of the most giant excavated holes in the world.
It was discovered by the Soviet geologist Yuri Khabardin during the large Amakinsky Expedition in Yakut ASSR.
His team found traces of the volcanic rock kimberlite, which is usually associated with diamonds.
Although many other expeditors worked on this mission, they utterly failed. And finally,
in the 1950s, Yuri Khabardin somehow managed to get success.
Open-pit mining began in 1957 and was discontinued in 2001.
However, since 2009, it has been active as an underground diamond mine.
Today, the place where Yuri found the diamonds has been converted into the deepest man-made hole—
an open-pit mine that can easily accommodate the Eiffel tower, the Empire state building, and the Lakhta center. And still, there will be some space left.
The geologists started working on the project in 1957, but the extremely harsh climate conditions affected the working efficiency terribly.
Winters lasting seven months froze the earth, making mining difficult. During the summer, the ground soil turned into mud. Buildings have to be elevated on piles to prevent melting permafrost from sinking them.
The primary processing facility was built 20 km away from the mine on better ground.
The cold winter temperatures shattered tires, steel and frozen oil.
To get to the kimberlite below, miners used jet engines or dynamite to melt the permafrost.
The mine and all the machinery had to be covered at night to prevent freezing.
In 2017, the excellent hydro-ecological conditions caused a massive water rush in
and completely flooded the mine. Unfortunately, eight workers lost their lives, and 143 were rescued.
Although mining is still operational in the Mir Diamond mine the whole operation has moved underground.
How many of you already knew about these eye-opening construction projects?
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