THE WORLD'S 30 MOST IMPRESSIVE MEGAPROJECTS

The biggest and boldest projects on the planet

Gotthard Base Tunnel, Switzerland

A new world's longest and deepest rail tunnel cuting through the mountains in Switzerland.
Construction went on for nearly 20 years, but the Gotthard Base Tunnel inside the Swiss Alps
finally opened in 2016, moving rail cars of passengers and freight between Zurich, Switzerland,
and Milan, Italy. At 35 miles long and dipping about 7,500 feet below the mountain peaks above
it, the Gotthard Base Tunnel eliminates the need for winding mountainous routes by offering the
first flat-track route through the Alps.

Channel Tunnel, U.K./France

Impressive in scope, use, and engineering, the Chunnel stretches 31 miles under the English
Channel, connecting the United Kingdom to France with what it actually a total of three tunnels.
The six-year project created two 25-foot-wide tunnels for trains that run 365 days per year and
reach speeds of nearly 100 miles per hour while a third tunnel exists as an emergency escape
tunnel. Intricate systems of piston-operated air ducts and coolant pipes alleviate the pressure of
the trains and the heat of the tracks. Traveling for 23 miles under the English Channel, the
tunnel is one of the longest undersea passageways in the world, dipping to depths of 246 feet
below the seabed.

Chuo Shinkansen, Japan

Construction kicked off in 2014 on a Japanese maglev line that will connect Tokyo to Nagoya by
2027 and then eventually to Osaka. Costing well into the double-digit billions when all said
(early estimates of $52 billion are just that, early), the plan calls for Tokyo and Nagoya travel to
take just 40 minutes as the trains run up to 314 mph. The 178-mile line will go mainly
underground and through tunnels for a railway project never seen at this scale.

Doha Metro Line, Qatar

Red, blue, green and gold signify the colors of the ambitious Doha Metro Line currently under
construction in Qatar. Over the course of the project, Doha will add more than 131 miles of light
rail track and eventually hopes to reach 100 stations (about 60 stations are under construction
now). At a peak of over 60 mph, Doha expects to showcase the fastest driverless trains in the
world as the new line opens in phases between 2019 and 2016.

Hanford Nuclear Waste Site, Washington

Countless billions of dollars have already been spent since the world’s largest environmental
cleanup project started in 1989 at the Hanford Nuclear Waste Site in southeastern Washington
state. From about 1943 to 1987, Hanford at times had nine nuclear reactors and five plutonium
processing complexes running in order to create a nuclear arsenal and the ongoing cleanup
effort—with no real end in sight—includes turning 53 million gallons of radioactive sludge-like
liquid in 177 underground tanks into vitrified glass for long-term safe storage.

Panama Canal Expansion, Panama

The Panama Canal is so 1914. That's why the expansion project, set to completed in 2016, will
carve out a new 3.8-mile-long channel for new locks—which require 4.4 million cubic meters of
concrete—and widen and deepen what is already there. Ships have grown a lot over the past
century, and so the world's most famous canal must do the same to keep pace, even if that
does mean whittling away more of Panama.

Port Mann Bridge, Vancouver, B.C.

The widest bridge in the world (until the Bay Bridge's east span recently opened), the bridge
east of Vancouver, B.C., which opened in 2012, remains the second-longest bridge in North
America. The cable-stay bridge uses an impressive 288 cables to reach a total bridge length of
6,866 feet.

Three Gorges Dam, China

We can't even comprehend the amount of concrete needed to construct the world's largest dam.
Standing on China's Yangtze River, this 17-year, $59 billion project measures 595 feet tall, 131
feet wide, and more than 7,600 feet long, with 32 main turbines producing electricity.

One World Trade Center, New York

The tallest building in the Western Hemisphere rises a symbolic 1,776 feet above New York
City. The largely steel structure also includes a concrete core that provides additional security
and strength. It's almost as if there's a second skyscraper within the first.

Aizhai Suspension Bridge, China

The world's highest bridge, connecting two tunnels in China, is also one of the world's longest
suspension bridges. Opened in 2012, the bridge sits 1,200 feet over the Dehang Canyon and
spans a tower-to-tower distance of 3,858 feet. The mountains on either side anchor the
suspension towers.

Marmaray Tunnel, Turkey

It took nine years and $4.5 billion to build, but the 47-mile underwater railway tunnel connects
the European and Asian sides of town, giving Istanbul a new rail line into and out of the city
when it opened in 2013.

FFR Grand Stade, Paris

Retractable roofs are nice. Retractable fields, too. Put them together and add 82,000 seats and
the rugby federation of France will have a nearly mobile stadium on a giant scale located south
of Paris. The two million-square-foot venue will become one of the largest stadiums in all of
Europe, including serving as the largest roofed entertainment venue. And one of the most
moving.

Jubail Industrial City, Saudi Arabia

The ongoing expansion of a city built from the sand up starting in the 1970s required plenty of
logistical planning. The project, located in the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, is undergoing
an $11 billion expansion to update all things industrial. The four-phase project over nearly eight
square miles includes eight blocks of industrial plants, four blocks of petrochemical industry,
three blocks of support industries and four blocks of aluminum and other smelting plants. And
that doesn't even include removing hills, building tunnels, expanding fiberoptics, building
highways and using seawater for daily cooling.

Liuchonghe Bridge, China

Opened in 2013 with a 1,437-foot span, the second-highest cable-stayed bridge in the world
rises 1,100 feet above the Liuchonghe River. With one of the river canyon's walls acting as a
virtual cliff and the two towers sitting above the canyon—one at 623 feet tall and the other 517
feet—you can expect some crazy views if you visit here.

London Crossrail, London

London continues to grow underground. Eight tunneling machines recently wrapped up 26 new
miles of tunnel for new subway track that will connect 40 stations—including 10 completely new
ones—to improve transportation in England's largest city.

Hyderabad Metro Rail, India

It will take all of the $2 billion-plus to create a new, elevated Hyderabad Metro Rail system in
India. With initial phases nearing opening, the 46-mile light rail system will modernize an entire
region. Elevated stations will appear every kilometer and are expected to handle 15 million
riders, with trains arriving at stations every three to five minutes. With trains running at an
average of over 20 miles per hour, all technology—track, stations and support—will run above
ground.

Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, China

The incredible scope of this mega-infrastructure project includes a 16-mile bridge-to-tunnel
structure, with the tunnel portion spanning about four miles. Two artificial islands for the tunnel
landings will help engineers create both the tunnel section and anchor the bridge portions,
which will connect Hong Kong and the mainland via a mega-crossing.

Songjiang Hotel, China

Don't mind the waterfall. It's a key feature of this hotel built into a 328-foot-tall quarry outside of
Shanghai. The 19-story hotel will have the waterfall cascading down the middle and two hotel
floors that are entirely underwater.

Russky Bridge, Russia

At a total length of over 10,000 feet, the $1 billion Russky Bridge in southwestern Russia
became the world's longest cable-stayed bridge when it opened in 2012. The 168 cable stays
from its towers support the load of the bridge, and pylons standing more than 1,000 feet high
anchor the cables. Just the middle channel of this three-segment bridge is about the length of
the Golden Gate Bridge. The longest cables stretch nearly 2,000 feet.

Etihad Rail, United Arab Emirates

Rail may soon be the fastest and easiest way to get around the United Arab Emirates. The
three-phased Etihad Rail project, which now has the first phase wrapped, plans to connect 745
miles of new rail across the country to link with Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, and
Kuwait.

Al Maktoum International Airport, Dubai

The original opening in 2010 was never meant to be the final word on the new airport for Dubai.
Al Maktoum will receive a $32 billion expansion set to last up to eight years that will allow for
220 million passengers per year to fly out of the desert. The shear scope of an airport spread
over 21 square miles will accommodate 100 Airbus A380 aircrafts at any given time.

Beijing Daxing International Airport, China

This will be the home of the world's largest airport terminal, the gleaming Terminal 1, designed
by Zaha Hadid. Built to accommodate 100 million passengers per year and with seven runways
and 7.5 million square feet of the space, the airport's first phase should finish in 2019, with the
rest slated to wrap up in 2025.

Bertha Tunnel-Boring Machine, Seattle

While Bertha had a moment—okay, well over a year—of getting stuck underground downtown
Seattle, the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine at 57.5 feet in diameter finished digging a 1.7-
mile-long tunnel in 2017. The 7,000-ton, 326-foot-long machine finished its work and was taken
apart as crews work to open the new double-decker roadway tunnel by the end of 2018.

New Century Global Centre, China

At more than 18 million square feet, the New Century Global Centre is the world's largest
freestanding building in terms of floor space. The structure includes multiple shopping malls,
hotels, offices, theatres, theme-park-like attractions, and even a water park.

Atlanta Falcons Stadium, Atlanta

Any new football stadium is probably going to get a retractable roof. This $1.2 billion altar to
opulence, however, has one that's rather unusual: It's made of eight roof "petals" that create a
camera lens-like effect when the roof opens and closes. Made of ETFE fabric, the translucent
panels allow light into the stadium even when they're closed. The roof will take eight minutes to
open and expose the brand-new stadium opened in 2017.

Shanghai Tower, China

When the world's second-tallest building officially fully opened in 2017, stacked steel plates
created a "tuned-mass damper" at the top of Shanghai Tower to protect it against swaying. At
2,073 feet tall, there's plenty of room inside the tower for offices, hotel rooms and public space.
The 21 sky lobbies should also offer plenty of mind-blowing views.

Bay Bridge Eastern Span, San Francisco-Oakland

The world's longest self-anchored suspension bridge, thanks to its 2,047-foot main span, is also
the world's widest bridge. A single 2.6-foot-diameter main cable loops around the roadway, held
aloft on a 525-foot tower that supports 90 percent of the bridge's weight.

State Route 520 Floating Bridge, Seattle

Concrete floats quite nicely in Seattle, where engineers have devised a 7,710-foot-long floating
bridge, the longest in the world. The new State Route 520 bridge will replaced the current
world's longest on a stretch of highway that floats across Lake Washington, connecting Seattle
to points east. The new structure, rising 20 feet above the water, opened to traffic in spring
2016.

Skytree, Tokyo
The world's tallest "tower" in the world (Burj Khalifa remains the world's tallest building) opened
in 2012 in Tokyo. Standing 2,080 feet, the $1.8 billion tower has six TV transmission antennas
has two observation decks for panoramic views, allowing tourists to survey Japan's capital city
from 1,148 feet and 1,476 feet up.

Silver Line, Washington, D.C.

The D.C. Metro is adding a color. The new silver line required 11.7 miles of new track and five
new stations for the completion of phase one, which opened in 2014. Work has already started
on phase two, which will add another 11.4 miles of track and six new stations, including a much-
needed connection to notoriously difficult-to-reach Washington Dulles International Airport. The
silver line has been noted as one of the most complex transportation projects in the country, as
engineers had to plan and build amidst the already developed region.
 THE WORLD'S 10 TALLEST BUILDINGS

Burj Khalifa
Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Height: 2,717 feet
Completion Date: 2010
An innovative tripedal design, along with the projecting shapes of its edges to cut through the
wind like the front of a boat to reduce turbulence, both affording greater stability, are but a few of
the smart ways the Burj Khalifa succeeded in rising to its record-setting height. The building
soars more than 700 feet over its nearest competitor.

Shanghai Tower
Location: Shanghai, China
Height: 2,073
Completion date: 2014
Twisting to the sky with 128 floors that make the Shanghai Tower one of the tallest in the world,
the design from Gensler embraces an inner glass façade and a twirling exterior. While inside the
tower features nine zones created by the stacking of interior components atop one another, the
curved exterior not only provides a unique aesthetic as the third of three skyscrapers in close
proximity, but also offers an engineering benefit by reducing wind loads.

Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel

Location: Mecca, Saudi Arabia
Height: 1,972 feet
Completion Date: 2012
Big Ben done bigger, the Makkah Royal Clock Tower Hotel was built to afford comfortable
accommodations to wealthy Muslim pilgrims making the Hajj. A factor that contributes to the
building reaching so high: its gigantic footprint—a broader base supports greater height, as
we've all learned first-hand playing with blocks as kids. "I think this building is getting by on
sheer mass," said Safarik. "You can see the way that the other buildings around it have a
stabilizing effect."

Ping An Finance Center

Location: Shenzhen, China
Height: 1,965 feet
Completion date: 2017
The Special Economic Zone of Shenzhen, China, has really spurred on growth. And that
includes upward growth, seen in the 2017 completion of the concrete and steel Ping An Finance
Center. Intensely dense and connected into the center of the city—it sits on the high-speed rail
corridor—the mix of hotel, office and retail, the 115 floors designed by American firm Kohn
Pedersen Fox Associates offers a modern approach to skyscrapers in China.
Lotte World Tower
Location: Seoul, South Korea
Height: 1,819 feet
Completion date: 2017
The 123 floors of the Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates-designed Lotte World Tower became the
first 100-story building in Korea. The steel building curves inward as it rises, and the glass used
was meant to serve as a reminder to Korean ceramic history. A mix of retail, office, hotel,
residence, and event space fills the tower.

One World Trade Center

Location: New York City, United States
Height: 1,776 feet
Completion Date: 2014
The spire of One WTC attains a height of exactly 1,776 feet—a shout-out to the birth year of the
United States. The building proper is only around 1,300 feet tall, but the CTBUH chose to count
spire toward the building's official height. That decision saw the new building controversially
eclipse the Willis Tower in Chicago (later in this list) as the tallest building in North America.

China Zun
Location: Beijing, China
Height: 1,731 feet
Completion date: 2019 (expected)
Fully topped out in 2017, final work on what will be the tallest building in Beijing continues with
an expected opening in 2019. The unique design from TFP Farrels + Kohn Pedersen Fox
Associates curves the building inward as it rises before it curves outward again near the top of
the 109-floor structure. The mixed-use building provides a completely fresh perspective on
Beijing skyscrapers likely to lead the way for years to come.

Taipei 101
Location: Taipei, Taiwan
Height: 1,667 feet
Completion Date: 2004
Taipei 101 "adopts some of the vernacular architecture of the region where it's built," Safarik
says. "Here you have a classic, stacked pagoda look, which is a common thing throughout
Asia." Furthermore, the building has eight segments of eight floors each, a nod to the
auspicious nature of the numeral 8 in the Chinese-speaking world.

The Exchange 106

Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Height: 1,614 feet
Completion date: 2019 (expected)
Using a 12-story illuminated crown to accentuate the height of The Exchange 106 in the Tun
Razak Exchange financial district development in Kuala Lumpur, the new skyscraper gives
visitors a shiny new example of height in Malaysia. The Peter Chan Architect design is
structurally completed with the opening, including a mix of uses, of the 106-floor building
planned for 2019.
Shanghai World Financial Centre
Location: Shanghai, China
Height: 1,614 feet
Completion Date: 2008
"What's special about this one is pretty obvious," Safarik says. "It has a big hole in the top." The
Shanghai World Financial Center's passing resemblance to a bottle opener is not lost on its
operators, who sell miniature, functional bottle opener replicas of the tower in the observation
deck gift shop.
 TOP 10 BIGGEST DAMS

Kariba Dam, Zimbabwe

Kariba Dam is the world’s biggest dam based on water storage capacity. Located at the former
Kariwa (Kariba) Gorge, the dam creates Lake Kariba, which has a storage capacity of 185
billion cubic metres of water and a surface area of 5,580km2. The Lake Kariba covers a length
of 280km and is 32km wide at its widest section.

The dam is 128m high, 617m in length, and was constructed using 1.036 million cubic metres of
concrete. It comprises of two power stations generating a combined 1,470MW of energy, which
constitutes approximately 60% of the hydropower outputs for Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Bratsk Dam, Russia

Bratsk Dam in Siberia, Russia, ranks as the second biggest dam in the world thanks to its
169.27 billion cubic metres reservoir. The dam impounds the Angara River and the reservoir
created by it covers a surface area of 5,540km2.

The dam is 125m high and 1,452m in length, and has a rail line and a highway on its top. The
power plant at the dam has an installed capacity of 4,500MW comprising of 18 Francis turbines.

Akosombo Dam, Ghana

Akosombo dam, located in Ghana, is the third biggest dam based on water storage capacity.
Constructed on the Volta River, the dam creates the 8,500km2 Lake Volta, which is the world’s
biggest reservoir by surface area. The lake impounds a mammoth 144 billion cubic metres of
water.

The rock-fill embankment dam has a crest length of about 700m and a height of 134m, and
involved 12 million cubic metres of surface excavation. It was constructed from 1961 to 1966
primarily for the purpose of electricity generation, but also provides a livelihood for about
300,000 people through fisheries in the lake.

Daniel Johnson Dam, Canada

The Daniel Johnson Dam, also known as Manic 5 Dam, impounds the Manicouagan River that
creates the Manicouagan Reservoir with a storage capacity of 139.8 billion cubic metres. The
reservoir, having a surface area of 1,973km2, is the fourth biggest in the world.

The dam is also touted as the world’s biggest hollowbody multiple-arch-and-buttress dam. It is
1,310.6m long and 213.97m high, and features 14 buttresses and 13 arches. It was constructed
using 2.2 million cubic metres of concrete.

Guri Dam, Venezuela

Guri, the world’s fifth biggest dam, has a storage capacity of 135 billion cubic metres and
creates the Guri Lake covering 4,000km2. The concrete gravity and embankment dam
measures 1,300m in length and 16m in height, and provides for 70% of the country’s electricity
needs. It is operated by CVG Electrification del Caroni CA (Edelca).

The dam’s construction was carried out in two stages, which commenced in 1963 and
completed in 1986. The Guri hydropower facility has an installed capacity of more than
10,000MW. A modernisation project for the dam is also currently underway involving ABB as the
main contractor.

Aswan High Dam, Egypt

The Aswan High Dam, which impounds the River Nile and creates Lake Nasser, is the sixth
biggest dam based on water storage capacity. The dam’s reservoir, Lake Nasser, has a water
storage capacity of 132 billion cubic metres.

The multipurpose dam serves the irrigation needs of both Egypt and Sudan, controls flooding,
generates power, and helps in improving navigation across the Nile. It is 111m in height,
3,830m in length, and has a base width of 980m. Its single spillway has a water discharge
capacity of 11,000 cubic metres a second.

W.A.C Bennett Dam, Canada

W.A.C Bennett Dam, constructed on the Peace River in British Columbia, Canada, creates the
Williston lake. The dam ranks as the seventh largest with a storage capacity of approximately
74 billion cubic metres and covers a surface area of 1,773km2.

The earth fill embankment dam is operated by B.C Hydro, and has a height of 183m andcrest
length of 2,068m. The construction of the dam was commenced in 1961 and completed in 1967.

Krasnoyarsk Dam, Russia

The world’s eighth biggest dam is the Krasnoyarsk Dam, which impounds the Yenisey River and
creates the Krasnoyarskoye reservoir with a storage capacity of 73.3 billion cubic metres. The
reservoir covers a surface area of 2,000km2 and has a shoreline of approximately 1,560km.

The concrete gravity dam is 124m high, 1,065m in length, and was constructed from1956 to
1972. It is designed with a flood discharge capacity of 20,400m3 per second.

Zeya Dam, Russia

The Zeya Dam, built on the Zeya River in the Amur Oblast of Russia, north of the Chinese
border, creates the Zeya reservoir with a storage capacity of 68.42 billion cubic metres, which is
the ninth biggest dam based on reservoir capacity. The reservoir covers a surface area of
2,419km2.

The concrete gravity dam has an overall height of 112m, a crest length of 714.2m, and was
constructed utilising 2.067 million cubic metres of concrete.

Robert-Bourassa Dam, Canada

The Robert Bourassa Dam impounding the La Grande River in northern Quebec, Canada,
creates the Robert-Bourassa Reservoir. It is the world’s tenth biggest dam and has a reservoir
capacity of 61.7 billion cubic metres covering a surface area of 2,815km2.

The embankment dam is 162m high and 2,835m in length, and features a spillway which has a
capacity to release17,600m3 of water per second.
 THE 10 FASTEST TRAINS IN THE WORLD

1. Shanghai Maglev: 267 mph

The world’s fastest train isn’t the newest, the shiniest, or even the one with the most expensive
tickets. Charging $8 per person, per ride, the Maglev runs the nearly 19 miles from Shanghai’s
Pudong International Airport to the Longyang metro station on the outskirts of Shanghai. That’s
right—the train, which takes just over 7 minutes to complete the journey using magnetic
levitation (maglev) technology, doesn’t go to the city center. As such, the bulk of the passengers
since its 2004 debut have been travelers on their way to and from the airport, cameras out and
ready to snap a photo of the speed indicators when the train hits 431 km/hr (267 mph).

2. Fuxing Hao CR400AF/BF: 249 mph

China wins again, also serving as home to the world’s fastest non-maglev train currently in
service. The name “Fuxing Hao” translates to mean “rejuvenation,” and each of the two trains
have been branded with nicknames: CR400AF is “Dolphin Blue,” and the CR400BF is "Golden
Phoenix.” The “CR” stands for China Railway. Both take just under five hours to zip up to 556
passengers each between Beijing South and Shanghai Hongqiao Station, easily halving the
nearly 10-hour time it takes to ride the conventional, parallel rail line between these two
megalopolises. The “Rejuvenation” also beats China’s next fastest train, the “Harmony”
CRH380A; it has dazzled since 2010, with speeds of up to 236 mph on routes connecting
Shanghai with Nanjing and Hangzhou, and Wuhan with Guangzhou.

3. Shinkansen H5 and E5: 224 mph

Japan is celebrating the 54th anniversary of high-speed train travel this year, since it was way
back in 1964 that the Hikari high-speed train launched service between Tokyo and Osaka,
cutting travel time between the country's two largest cities from nearly seven hours to a mere
four by rail. The H5 and E5 series Shinkansen, respectively running the Tohoku and Hokkaido
services, are two of the newer bullet trains on Japan's tracks, and so far the fastest in regular
commercial service in the country.

4. The Italo and Frecciarossa: 220 mph

Italy’s dueling train operators, NTV and Trenitalia, each flaunt a high-speed train that tie as
Europe’s fastest, capable of shuttling passengers from Milan to Florence or Rome in under
three hours, with a new route to Perugia debuting this year. The Frecciarossa, or “red arrow,”
was unveiled during Expo 2015, held in Milan, and the train is remarkable as much for its speed
as for its construction; its components are nearly 100 percent renewable and sustainable.

5. Renfe AVE: 217 mph

Spain's fastest train is the Velaro E by Siemens, and it is used for long-distance services to
major Spanish cities and beyond: traveling from Barcelona to Paris can now be accomplished
on high-speed rail in six hours.

6. Haramain Western Railway: 217 mph

The Mecca-Medina high-speed link stretches the 281 miles between Saudi Arabia’s most holy
cities and has been in partial operation since December 2017, with full completion set for early
summer 2018. Traveling the length of the route takes two and a half hours, compared to five
hours by car. Speed isn’t the entire justification for the construction of this railway, however; the
Haramain is expected to carry three million passengers a year, including many Hajj and Umrah
pilgrims, relieving traffic congestion.

7. DeutscheBahn ICE: 205 mph

The distinctively futuristic white and silver of the Inter-City Express, or ICE, combined with its
sharp red cheatline, makes an impressive sight speeding through scenic German countryside,
especially on its newest route connecting Berlin and Munich. Similar to Spain's Renfe AVE train,
Germany's fastest train is another Siemens design, the Velaro, and was built to fit through the
Channel Tunnel. That's a serious asset for DeutscheBahn's long-term plans to operate these
trains from Frankfurt to London.

8. Korail KTX: 205 mph

South Korea’s high-speed rail network is far from the newest (the KTX debuted in 2004), but it
does hold its rank among the fastest. The latest route, opened just in time for the 2018 Winter
Olympics, connects Incheon International Airport in the west to the coastal town of Gangneung
in the east, stopping in Seoul along the way. The KTX cuts the transport time to reach the ski
slopes of PyeongChang from six hours by conventional train to under two hours.

9. Eurostar e320 and TGV: 200 mph

Both the TGV and Eurostar e320 trains are tied for next on the list, but the latter underwent a
redesign in 2015. Named for its top speed of 320 km/hr (200 mph), the e320 series is the first
tip-to-tail redesign of a Eurostar train in the company’s 22-year history. The speedier trains—20
km/hr faster than the earlier, e300 series—are capable of trimming another 15 minutes off the
already zippy Eurostar trips of around two hours between Brussels, Paris, and London (and
Amsterdam, later this year). Since Eurostar delivers its passengers right to the center of each
city and fares are available with Rail Europe from $70 one-way, it’s a wonder anyone still flies
between the cities.

10. Thalys: 186 mph

Connecting Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, and Cologne with multiple daily services, the Thalys is
one of Europe's most important train lines for both leisure and business travelers; in fact, its
ridership is almost an even split between the two categories. In December 2015 the German
route was extended as far as Dortmund, though the Brussels-to-Paris run remains critical,
making up more than half the business.
 10 LONGEST BRIDGES IN THE WORLD

Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge

The Danyang–Kunshan Grand Bridge is the world’s longest bridge and is currently in the
Guinness Book of World Records with that title. It is a 164.8 kilometers (102.4 mi) long viaduct
on the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway where the geography is characterized by lowland
rice paddies, canals, rivers, and lakes. It took four years to build and cost over 8 billion dollars.

Tianjin Grand Bridge

Tianjin Grand Bridge is a railway viaduct bridge that runs between Langfang and Qingxian, part
of the Beijing–Shanghai High-Speed Railway. It is one of the longest bridges in the world with a
total length of about 113,700 m (373,000 ft), or 113.7 , (70.6 mi). According to Guinness, it holds
the title for the second longest bridge in the world.

Bang Na Expressway
The Bang Na Expressway is a 55 km long six-lane elevated highway in Thailand. The bridge is
a six-lane highway that runs on the Bang Na–Trat Highway. It was often considered to be one of
the longest bridges in the world (until 2010 the longest), but it’s excluded from some lists since it
does not cross a body of water for most of its length. The largest body of water that it crosses is
the Bang Pakong River.

Lake Pontchartrain Causeway

The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, or the Causeway, is considered to be the longest bridge in
the United States and the longest bridge in the world over water (continuous). It consists of two
parallel bridges crossing Lake Pontchartrain in southern Louisiana, United States. The longer of
the two bridges is 23.83 miles (38.35 km) long. There was some controversy with Guinness
over the title of the longest bridge over water. For over 10 years, Lake Pontchartrain Causeway
was listed in the book for being the longest bridge over water. However, in 2011, Jiaozhou Bay
Bridge in China was given the title of the longest bridge over water. Many Lake Pontchartrain
record holders in the U.S. disputed this with Guinness stating that the causeway ran for 23.79
miles over water; therefore, it was the longest. Guinness ended the controversy by creating two
categories, one for the longest bridge (continuous), which was given to Lake Pontchartrain, and
longest bridge (aggregate), which was given to Jiazhou.

Manchac Swamp Bridge

The Manchac Swamp Bridge is a twin concrete trestle bridge in the US state of Louisiana. It is
located around Lake Pontchartrain, a lake well known for its incredibly long bridges, as you will
see in a moment. Although the bridge is totally safe to drive on, Louisiana legend says that the
bridge is haunted by a Cajun werewolf known as a “Rougarou” and a voodoo princess.
However, despite these spooky tales, the only thing that drivers should be cautious of is not to
get too close to the alligators that make a home on the waters under the bridge.
Hangzhou Bay Bridge
At 35.673 km (22 mi) in length, Hangzhou Bay Bridge is one of the longest trans-oceanic
bridges in the world. The purpose of this bridge was to reduce travel time from Ningbo and
Shanghai. It succeeded in doing so; while it used to take four hours time, it now takes two.

Runyang Bridge
The Runyang Bridge is a large bridge complex that crosses the Yangtze River in Jiangsu
Province, China, downstream of Nanjing. The complex consists of two major bridges that link
Zhenjiang on the south bank of the river and Yangzhou on the north. The bridge is part of the
Beijing-Shanghai Expressway. It holds the record as world’s third largest suspension bridge
span as well as the largest bridge in China.

Donghai Bridge is one of the longest cross-sea bridges in the world. It has a total length of 32.5
kilometers (20.2 mi) and connects mainland Shanghai and the offshore Yangshan deep-water
port in China. Due to the narrowness of the speedway on the bridge, vehicles that are too heavy
cannot travel on it.

Zhuhai-Macau Bridge
The Zhuhai-Macau Bridge is a 34-mile-long bridge in Hong Kong that consists of three-cable
stayed bridges, an under sea tunnel, and four artificial islands. The bridge was built to last 120
years and cost 126.9 billion yuan, which equals to 18.77 billion U.S. dollars. It currently holds
the title of longest sea-crossing bridge.

Atchafalaya Basin Bridge

The Atchafalaya Basin Bridge is a pair of parallel bridges in the US state of Louisiana between
Baton Rouge and Lafayette which carries Interstate 10 over the Atchafalaya Basin. It’s also
known as the Louisiana Memorial Airborne Bridge. When one is traveling on these bridges, it’s
advised you do so with caution. It has been reported there are a lot of accidents due to the
narrowness of the two river crossings and lack of shoulder. Apparently, accidents were so bad
that in 1999, the Governor had to lower the speed limit from 70 mph to 60 mph.
 TOP 5 EARTHQUAKE RESISTANT STRUCTURES AROUND THE WORLD

5. Sabiha Gökçen International Airport

Sabiha Gökçen is one of the two international airports in Istanbul, Turkey, which is located near
the North Anatolian fault. It was designed by the engineering firm Ove Arup to have 300 base
isolator systems that can withstand up to a maximum of 8.0 Mw earthquake. The base isolators
can reduce lateral seismic loadings by 80% which makes it one of the largest seismically
isolated structure in the world.

4. Transamerica Pyramid

The Transamerica Pyramid is an iconic 1970s structure hosted by the Californian city of San
Francisco which sits closely beside the San Andreas and Hayward faults. In 1989, the Loma
Prieta earthquake struck the structure at a magnitude of 6.9 Mw which caused the top story to
sway, by almost one foot from side to side, for more than a minute but the building stood tall and
undamaged. This earthquake resistance feat can be attributed to the 52-foot-deep steel and
concrete foundation that is designed to freely move with seismic loadings. Vertical and
horizontal loadings are supported by a unique truss system above the first level with interior
frames extending up to the 45th level. The complex combination of these structural systems
makes the building resistant to torsional movements and allows large horizontal base shear
forces to be absorbed.

3. Burj Khalifa

The structure is composed of mechanical floors where outrigger walls connect the perimeter
columns to the interior walling. By doing this, the perimeter columns are able to contribute
support for the lateral resistance of the structure and the verticality of the columns also help with
carrying the gravity loads. As a result, Burj Khalifa is exceptionally stiff in both lateral and
torsional directions. A complex system of base and foundation design was derived by
conducting extensive seismic and geotechnical studies which gave the skyscraper stringent
structural measures against earthquakes.

2. Taipei 101

Putting aside the architecture, the mind-blowing fact about Taipei 101 is that it houses the
biggest tuned mass damper (TMD) in the world! It's basically a gigantic metal ball that
counteracts big transient loadings like wind and earthquake to reduce the sway of the supertall
tower. The TMD is supported by hydraulic viscous damper arms and bumper system which
function in the same way as a car's shock absorber. When large forces act upon the tower the
TMD sway in the opposite direction bringing the entire building in equilibrium by damping out the
transient forces using the ball's mass. How amazing is that?

This earthquake damper system is located between the 87th floor up until the 92nd level.
1. Philippine Arena

The Philippine Arena is the world's largest domed arena and is the most amazing earthquake-
proof structure. It is owned by the religious group the Iglesia Ni Cristo (INC) who has
commissioned this 55,000 seating capacity arena for their 100th founding anniversary three
years ago on July 27, 2014. It is the centerpiece of the tourism enterprise zone called Ciudad
De Victoria in Bulacan, Philippines.

The arena was designed by the Australian architecture firm Populous and the elite engineering
firm Buro Happold. You can appreciate the greatness of this structure by its susceptibility to
earthquakes and how it was designed to resist large seismic loadings.