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The use of carbon fiber grid over conventional reinforcement yields a number of unique properties to CarbonCast components: [7]
Lower weight - When carbon fiber grid replaces steel mesh in the face of concrete products, manufacturers can use less concrete cover to protect the mesh from corrosive elements. Non-corrosive carbon fiber eliminates the need for extra concrete Improved thermal performance - The relatively low thermal conductivity of carbon fiber permits CarbonCast components to provide higher R-values than conventional precast concrete Improved strength - Carbon fiber is four times stronger than steel by weight providing better surface crack control when used as secondary reinforcing and 100% composite action when used as a truss in insulated wall panel Comparable cost - Many applications receive savings in foundation and super structure (reduced weight), energy costs (insulation) and maintenance (reduced corrosion
The arduous trek to Kashmir may soon be a thing of the past. A new passage to Srinagar now under construction will not only bring the regions of Jammu and Kashmir closer but will also end the isolation of the valley from the rest of the country.
A number of state-of-the-art tunnels are being dug through the Pir Panjal ranges, among others, for easy roadways and a pioneering railway line both of which will give easy access to the valley.
Even as the railways are planning a 90-km-long network of tunnels, the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has undertaken a project to upgrade the present national highway (NH 44) stretch from Jammu to Srinagar into four lanes. The project includes two major tunnels.
The 288-km distance between Jammu and Srinagar will be reduced to 238 km but more importantly the 10-hour journey will be covered in just about five hours, avoiding perilous points such as Khooni Nala (bloody path) where shooting stones slide at the speed of a bullet taking a heavy toll of life. At least, 10 people have lost their lives at such points in January-February.
The two tunnels will also end the snow-related traffic jams that last several days. The Chenani-Nashri Tunnel which is being blasted through the Mury formation range of the Shivalik range —derived from Mury village in Pakistan from where it starts —at an elevation of 1.2 km is 9 km long and will be the longest tunnel in the country when completed in 2016, the deadline for the entire project estimated to cost Rs. 10,600 crore The proposed two-lane tunnel with a separate escape route avoids Patnitop, a tourist spot during the winter for its snow, and the steep Nagroda bypass which the State government declared unfit for use after truck drivers found it difficult to negotiate not only the steep gradient but also the sharp and narrow bends on the range.
“It will save us enormous time, about Rs. 250 in fuel, wear and tear and several other bottlenecks on each trip,” said truck driver Mushtaq Ali.
However, twin tunnels with inbuilt escape routes in case of snow storm or blizzards, are being provided through Pir Panjal from Banihal to Quazigund at an elevation of 1.8 km. Though their entrances are not free from snow, experts maintain clearing a four-lane road of snow would be much easier than a two-lane one.
Moreover, the mountains are steep and unstable posing a challenge to travellers. Engineers also consider it difficult to carve out a single four-lane road and intend to adopt the split road technology separating the ascending and descending stretches which will require erecting flexible steel tunnels during the construction period to protect existing traffic from falling stones.
Every one in Kashmir is eagerly looking forward to the completion of the project, with the owner of a cricket bat manufacturing firm even having surrendered his land facing the national highway. One is not sure whether he was convinced by the official explanation of the roads being completed by 2014 and the tunnels by 2016 which will ensure smooth travel on this stretch and give his business a fillip. The four-year wait might get prolonged given that the NHAI is yet to award the contract for the 43-km-long Udhampur-Ramban and 36-km-long Ramban-Banihal stretches due to various reasons, including the fact these are among the toughest sections of the project.
Virendra Singh, director of the project, however, said the proposals were likely to be cleared with revised cost estimates by the Union government and would be completed by June 2014.
Timely clearance and construction of the two stretches is imperative as their traffic carrying capacity has to match those of the other stretches which would be opened as and when completed. A failure will lead to a major congestion at the two ends.
The East Bridge as seen from the Zealand side. Official name Østbroen Carries Motor vehicles Crosses Great Belt Maintained by A/S Storebælt Designer Dissing+Weitling Design Suspension bridge Material Concrete and steel Total length 6,790 metres (22,277 ft) Width 31 metres (102 ft) Height 254 metres (833 ft) Longest span 1,624 metres (5,328 ft) Piers in water 19 Clearance below 65 metres (213 ft) Construction end 1998 Opened 14 June 1998
Coordinates 55°20′31″N 11°02′10″E
The Great Belt Fixed Link (Danish: Storebæltsforbindelsen) is the fixed link between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen across the Great Belt. It consists of a road suspension bridge and railway tunnel between Zealand and the island Sprogø, as well as a box girder bridge between Sprogø and Funen. The "Great Belt Bridge" (Danish: Storebæltsbroen) commonly refers to the suspension bridge, although it may also be used to mean the beam bridge or the link in its entirety. The suspension bridge, known as the East Bridge, has the world's third longest main span (1.6 km), and the longest outside of Asia. It was designed by the Danish architectural practice Dissing+Weitling.
The link replaces the ferry service which had been the primary means of crossing the Great Belt. After more than five decades of speculation and debate, the decision to construct the link was made in
1986; [1] while the original intent was to complete the railway link three years before opening the road connection, the link was opened to rail traffic in 1997 and road traffic in 1998. At an estimated cost
of DKK 21.4 billion (1988 prices), [2] the link is the
largest construction project in Danish history. [3]
Operation & maintenance of the link is performed by A/S Storebælt under Sund & Bælt. Construction and maintenance are financed by tolls on vehicles and trains.
The link has reduced travel times significantly; previously taking about an hour by ferry, the Great Belt can now be crossed in about 10 minutes. The construction of the Great Belt Fixed Link and the Øresund Bridge have, together, enabled one to drive from mainland Europe to Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia through Denmark, providing an alternative to the significantly longer land route through Finland. Cyclists are not permitted to use the bridge, but may transport their cycle on a train or a bus.
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The Great Belt ferries entered service between the coastal towns of Korsør and Nyborg in 1883, connecting the railway lines on either side of the Belt. In 1957, road traffic was moved to the Halsskov–Knudshoved route, about 1.5 kilometres to the north and close to the modern-day fixed link.
Construction drafts for a fixed link were presented as early as the 1850s, with several suggestions appearing in the following decades. The Danish State Railways, responsible for the ferry service, itself presented plans for a bridge in 1934. In 1948, the Ministry for Public Works (now the Ministry of Transport) established a commission to investigate
the implications of a fixed link. [4]
The first law concerning a fixed link was enacted in
1973, [5] but the project was put on hold in 1978 as the Venstre (Liberal) party demanded postponingof various public spending. Political agreement to restart work was reached in 1986, with a construction law (Danish: anlægslov) being passed
in 1987. [6]
The design was eventually carried out by the architecture practice Dissing+Weitling together with the engineering firm COWI.
Construction of the Great Belt Fixed Link commenced in 1988. In 1991, Finland sued Denmark at the International Court of Justice, on the grounds that Finnish-built mobile offshore drilling units would have been unable to pass beneath the bridge. The two countries negotiated a financial compensation of 90 million Danish kroner, and
Finland withdrew the lawsuit. [7]
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The West Bridge
The West bridge (foreground) as seen from Nyborg at Funen. Official name Vestbroen Carries Motor vehicles, trains Crosses Great Belt Maintained by A/S Storebælt Design Box girder bridge Total length 6,611 metres (21,690 ft) Width 25 metres (82 ft) Longest span 110 metres (361 ft) Piers in water 62 Clearance below 18 metres (59 ft)
Opened 1 June 1997 (rail traffic) 14 June 1998 (road traffic) Coordinates 55°18′42″N 10°54′23″E
The East Tunnel Overview
Location Great Belt
Coordinates 55°21′15″N 11°01′59″E
Status Active
Start Halsskov
End Sprogø
Operation
Opened 1 June 1997
Traffic Trains
Character Mainline railway
Technical
Length 8,024 metres (4.986 mi)
Gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1 ⁄ 2 in)
Electrified 25 kV AC 50 Hz
Highest elevation −15.1 metres (−50 ft) [8]
Lowest elevation −75 metres (−246 ft) [2][8]
Grade 16 ‰ (max) [8]
The construction of the fixed link across the Great Belt became the biggest building project ever in the history of Denmark. In order to connect Halsskov on Zealand with Knudshoved on Funen, 18 kilometres to its west, a two-track railway and a four-lane motorway had to be built, aligned via the small island of Sprogø in the middle of the Great Belt. In general terms, the project comprised three different construction tasks: The East Bridge for road transport, the East Tunnel for rail transport and the West Bridge for road and rail transport combined. The construction work was carried out by Sundlink Contractors, a consortium of Skanska, Hochtief, Højgaard & Schultz (which built the West Bridge) and Monberg & Thorsen (which built the eight kilometre
section under the Great Belt). [9] The work of lifting and placing the elements was carried out by Ballast
Nedam using a floating crane. [10]
The East Bridge
Built between 1991 and 1998, the East Bridge (Østbroen) is a road suspension bridge between Halsskov and Sprogø. It is 6,790 metres (22,277 ft)
long with a free span of 1,624 metres (5,328 ft), [2]
making it the world's third-longest suspension bridge span, surpassed only by the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge and Xihoumen Bridge. The Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge was opened two months earlier. The East Bridge had been planned to be completed in time to open as the longest bridge; however, it was delayed and so opened as the second longest bridge. The vertical clearance for ships is 65 metres (213 ft), meaning the world's largest cruise ship just fits
under. [11]
At 254 metres (833 ft) above sea level, the two pylons of the East Bridge are the highest points on solid structures in Denmark. (Only some radio masts as Tommerup transmitter are taller.)
To keep the main cables tensioned, an anchorage structure on each side of the span is placed below the road deck. Additionally, a total of 19 concrete pillars (12 on the Zealand side, 7 by Sprogø), each separated by a distance of 193 metres (633 ft), carry the road deck outside the span.
The West Bridge
The West Bridge (Vestbroen) is a box girder
bridge [12] between Sprogø and Knudshoved. It is 6,611 metres (21,690 ft) long, and has a vertical
clearance for ships of 18 metres (59 ft). [2] It is essentially two separate, adjacent bridges above water. The northern one carries rail traffic and the southern one carries road traffic. However, the pillars of the two bridges rest on common foundations below sea level. The West Bridge was built between 1988 and 1994; its road/rail deck comprises 63 sections, supported by 62 pillars.
The tunnel
The twin bored tunnel tubes of the East Tunnel (Østtunnelen) are 8,024 metres (4.986 mi) long
each. [2] Between the two main tunnels, 31 connecting tunnels were placed at 250 metres (820 ft) intervals. The equipment that is necessary
for train operation in the tunnels [clarification needed]
is installed in the connecting tunnels. The connecting tunnels also serve as emergency escape routes.
There were delays and cost overruns in the tunnel construction. The plans was to open it for traffic in 1993, giving the trains a head start of three years over the road traffic. In reality the train traffic started in 1997 and road traffic in 1998. During construction of the tunnels, the sea bed gave way and one of the tunnel pipes was flooded. The water continued to rise and reached the end at Sprogø, where it continued into the (still dry) other tunnel pipe. The water thus damaged two of the four tunnel boring machines, but no workers were injured. Only by placing a clay blanket on the sea bed was it possible to dry out the tunnels. The two damaged machines were repaired and the majority of the tunnelling was undertaken from the Sprogø side. The tunnel machines on the Zealand side tunnelled through difficult ground and made little progress. A major fire on one of the Zealand machines in June 1994 finally stopped these drives and the tunnels were completed by the two Sprogø machines.
A total 320 compressed air workers were involved in 9018 pressure exposures in four tunnel boring
machines. [13] The project had a decompression sickness incidence of 0.14% with two workers having
Carries Motor vehicles (on the A15), pedestrians and cyclists Crosses Humber
Locale East Riding of Yorkshire/North Lincolnshire Maintained by The Humber Bridge Board
Design Suspension Total length 2,220 m (7,283 ft) Longest span 1,410 m (4,626 ft) (fifth-largest in the world)
Opened To traffic on 24 June 1981 Officially on 17 July 1981
Toll
Car: £3.00 HGV: £20.30 Motorcycle: £1.30 (This is due to be cut to £1.50 for cars and motorcycles go free as of 1st April 2012) Daily traffic 120,000 vehicles per week
Location within United Kingdom
Coordinates 53.7114°N 0.4485°W
The Humber Bridge, near Kingston upon Hull, England, is a 2,220 m (7,283 ft) single-span suspension bridge, which opened to traffic on 24 June 1981. It is the fifth-largest of its type in the world. It spans the Humber (the estuary formed by the rivers Trent and Ouse) between Barton-upon-Humber on the south bank and Hessle on the north bank, connecting the East Riding of Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire – both of which were previously in the non-metropolitan county of Humberside.
As of 2006, the bridge carried an average of 120,000
vehicles per week. [1] The toll is £3.00 each way for cars (higher for commercial vehicles), which makes it the most expensive toll crossing in the United
Kingdom. [2] As of 1 April 2012, the toll will be reduced to £1.50 each way after the UK government
Akashi Kaikyō Bridge from the air Other name(s) Pearl bridge Carries 6 lanes of roadway Crosses Akashi Strait [1]
Locale Awaji Island and Kobe [1]
Maintained by Honshu-Shikoku Bridge Authority Design Suspension bridge [1]
Total length 3,911 meters (12,831 ft)
Height 282.8 metres (928 ft) (pylons) [1]
Longest span 1,991 meters (6,532 ft) [1]
Clearance below 65.72 metres Construction begin 1988 [1]
Construction end 1998 [1]
Opened April 5, 1998 Toll ¥2,300 Coordinates 34°36′59″N 135°01′13″E
The Akashi-Kaikyō Bridge (明石海峡大橋 Akashi Kaikyō Ō-hashi ? ), also known as the Pearl Bridge, has the longest central span of any suspension
bridge, [2] at 1,991 metres (6,532 ft). It is located in
Japan and was completed in 1998. [1] The bridge links the city of Kobe on the mainland of Honshu to Iwaya on Awaji Island by crossing the busy Akashi Strait. It carries part of the Honshu-Shikoku Highway.
The bridge is one of the key links of the Honshū-Shikoku Bridge Project, which created three routes across the Inland Sea.
Hide History
Before the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge was built, ferries carried passengers across the Akashi Strait in Japan. This dangerous waterway often experiences severe storms and, in 1955, two ferries sank in the strait during a storm, killing 168 people. The ensuing shock and public outrage convinced the Japanese government to develop plans for a suspension bridge to cross the strait. The original plan called for a mixed railway-road bridge, but when construction on the bridge began in April 1988, the construction was restricted to road only, with six lanes. Actual construction did not begin until May 1988, and the
bridge was opened for traffic on April 5, 1998. [3] The Akashi Strait is an international waterway that necessitated the provision of a 1,500-metre (4,921 ft)-wide shipping lane.
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Main supporting towers
The bridge has three spans. The central span is
1,991 m (6,532 ft), [1] and the two other sectionsare each 960 m (3,150 ft). The bridge is 3,911 m (12,831 ft) long overall. The central span was originally only 1,990 m (6,529 ft), but the Great Hanshin earthquake on January 17, 1995, moved the two towers sufficiently (only the towers had been erected at the time) so that it had to be increased by
1 m (3.3 ft). [1]
The bridge was designed with a two hinged stiffening girder system, allowing the structure to withstand winds of 286 kilometres per hour (178 mph), earthquakes measuring to 8.5 on the Richter scale, and harsh sea currents. The bridge also contains pendulums that are designed to operate at the resonance frequency of the bridge to dampen forces. The two main supporting towers rise 298 m (978 ft) above sea level, and the bridge can expand because of heat by up to 2 m (7 ft) over the course of a day. Each anchorage required 350,000 tonnes (340,000 long tons; 390,000 short tons) of concrete. The steel cables have 300,000 kilometres (190,000 mi) of wire: each cable is 112 centimetres (44 in) in diameter and contains 36,830
strands of wire. [2][4]
The Akashi-Kaikyo bridge has a total of 1,737 illumination lights: 1,084 for the main cables, 116 for the main towers, 405 for the girders and 132 for the anchorages. On the main cables three high light discharged tubes are mounted in the colors red, green and blue. The RGB model and computer technology make for a variety of combinations. Currently, 28 patterns are used for occasions as national or regional holidays, memorial days or
festivities. [citation needed]
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The total cost is estimated at 500 billion yen, and is expected to be repaid by charging drivers a toll to cross the bridge. The toll is 2,300 yen and the bridge
Carries 6 lanes of Inner Ring Road Crosses Huangpu River Locale Shanghai, China Design cable-stayed bridge Total length 8,354 metres (27,408 ft) Width 30.35 metres (100 ft) Longest span 602 metres (1,975 ft) Opened October 1993 Coordinates 31°15′25″N 121°32′29″E
The Yangpu Bridge (simplified Chinese: 杨浦大桥; traditional Chinese: 楊浦大橋; pinyin: Yángpǔ Dàqiáo), in Shanghai, China,sister bridge to Nanpu Bridge, is among the world's longest bridges, with a total length of 8354 meters. Its longest span of 602 m makes it one of the largest cable-stayed bridges in the world. It carries the Inner Ring Road from the Yangpu District in Puxi to the Pudong New Area. It was completed in September 1993 and openedin October.
The bridge was designed by the Shanghai Municipal Engineering Design Institute, Shanghai Urban Construction College, and Shanghai Urban Construction Design Institute, with assistancefrom Holger S. Svensson. It was built by the Shanghai Huangpujiang Bridge Engineering Construction company.
It is a double-tower and double-cable-stayed bridge, with the bridge proper (the part that spans the river)1172m long. Its 30.35m width have altogether six lanes of traffic(3 for each direction). Its two pylons reach 223 m in height. The highest ship clearance is 48 m, a necessity due to the heavy river traffic.
As of 2006, it carries more than 100,000 vehicles per day across its six lanes.
The two main abutments support high, upside down Y-shaped towers (or pylons) from which the supporting cables are strung from, is a effective and eleagant design, imparting a graciousness that sets it apart from its peers. There are two 2m wide sightseeing sidewalks on both sides of the river.
East pylon
The bridge was originally unpainted; it was coated with red paint for the millennium. The name Yangpu Bridge (杨浦大桥) inscribed on each pylon was originally hand-written by Deng Xiaoping
Carries 12 lanes (six lanes upper and six lanes lower) of I-278 Crosses The Narrows
Locale New York City (Staten Island–Brooklyn) Maintained by MTA Bridges & Tunnels
Design Double-decked Suspension bridge Longest span 4,260 feet (1,298 m)
Vertical clearance 15 feet (4.57 m) (upper level) 14.4 feet (4.39 m) (lower level) Clearance below 228 feet (69.5 m) at mean high water [1]
Opened November 21, 1964 (upper level) June 28, 1969 (lower level)
Toll
(Westbound Only, as of 30 December 2010) Cars $13.00; $9.60 with an E-ZPass from a New York State issuing authority (for Staten Island residents: E-ZPass $5.76; Car Pool (Pre-paid Ticket) $2.68); Trucks $17.32 + $11.04/Axle over two with an E-ZPass from a New York State issuing authority, $26.00 Cash + $16/Axle over two. Non-NYS issued E-ZPass pays cash rate. [2]
Daily traffic 189,962 (2008) [3]
Coordinates 40°36′23″N 74°02′44″W
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge is a double-decked suspension bridge that connects the boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn in New York City at the Narrows, the reach connecting the relatively protected upper bay with the larger lower bay.
The bridge is named for both the Italian explorer Giovanni da Verrazzano, the first known European navigator in the service of the French crown to enter New York Harbor and the Hudson River, and for the body of water it spans: the Narrows. It has a center span of 4,260 feet (1,298 m) and was the longest suspension bridge in the world at the time of its completion in 1964, until it was surpassed by the Humber Bridge in the United Kingdom in 1981. It now has the eighth longest center span in the world, and its massive towers can be seen throughout a good part of the New York metropolitan area, including from spots in all five boroughs of New York City. The bridge is also easily seen from points in New Jersey including a great viewpoint from the Laurence Harbor section of Old Bridge Township.
The bridge furnishes a critical link in the local and regional highway system. Since 1976, it has been the
starting point of the New York City Marathon. [4] The bridge marks the gateway to New York Harbor; all cruise ships and most container ships arrivingat the Port of New York and New Jersey must pass underneath the bridge and thus must be built to accommodate the clearance under the bridge. This is most notable in the case of the ocean liner RMS Queen Mary 2.
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The bridge is owned by New York City and operated by MTA Bridges & Tunnels, an affiliate agency of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. Interstate 278 passes over the bridge, connecting the Staten Island Expressway with the Gowanus Expressway and the Belt Parkway. The Verrazano, along with the other three major Staten Island bridges, created a new way for commuters and travelers to reach Brooklyn, Long Island, and Manhattan by carfrom New Jersey.
The bridge was the last great public works project in New York City overseen by Robert Moses, the New York State Parks Commissioner and head of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, who had long desired the bridge as a means of completing the expressway system which was itself largely the result of his efforts. The bridge was also the last project designed by Chief Engineer Othmar Ammann, who had also designed most of the other major crossings of New York City, including the George Washington Bridge, the Bayonne Bridge, the Bronx Whitestone Bridge, the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge, and the Throgs Neck Bridge. The plans to build the bridge caused considerable controversy in the neighborhood of Bay Ridge, because many families had settled in homes in the area where the bridge now stands and were forced to relocate.
Verrazano Bridge tower and cables without risers or road bed
Construction on the bridge began August 13, 1959, and the upper deck was opened on November 21,
1964 at a cost of $320 million. [5][6] New York City Mayor Robert F. Wagner cut the ribbon at the opening ceremony, which was attended by over 5,000 people. He was the first person to be driven over the bridge, by Carey Cadillac driver Allbert
Wright [7] The lower deck opened on June 28,
1969. [8] The bridge took over the title of the longest suspension bridge in the world (previously held by the Golden Gate Bridge) from 1964 until 1981, when it was eclipsed by the Humber Bridge in England.
Fort Lafayette was an island coastal fortification in New York Harbor, built next to Fort Hamilton at the southern tip of what is now Bay Ridge. It was destroyed as part of the bridge's construction in 1960; the Brooklyn-side bridge pillars now occupy the fort's former foundation.
According to the United States Department of Transportation:
Each of the two towers contains 1,000,000 bolts and 3,000,000 rivets. The diameter of each of the four suspension cables is 36 inches (914 mm). Each cable is composed of 26,108 wires amounting to a total of 143,000 miles (230,136 km) in length Because of the height of the towers (693 ft/211 m) and their distance apart (4,260 ft/1,298 m), the curvature of the Earth's surface had to be taken into account when designing
the bridge—the towers are 1 5 ⁄ 8 inches (41.275 mm) farther apart at their tops than
at their bases. [9]
Because of thermal expansion of the steel cables, the bridge roadway is 12 feet (3.66 m)
lower in summer than in winter. [10]
Queen Mary 2 RADAR mast clearance.
The bridge is affected by weather more than any other bridge in the city because of its size and isolated location close to the open ocean. It is occasionally closed (either partially or entirely) during strong wind and snow storms.
The RMS Queen Mary 2 was designed with a flatter funnel to pass under the bridge, and has 13 feet (3.96 m) of clearance under the bridge during high
tide. [11]
The bridge has fostered more traffic on the Outerbridge Crossing and the Goethals Bridge, both of which connect Staten Island with New Jersey.
In 2009, all 262 of the mercury vapor fixtures in the bridge's necklace lighting were replaced with energy
efficient light-emitting diodes. [12]
Naming controversy
The naming of the bridge for Verrazzano was controversial. It was first proposed in 1951 by the Italian Historical Society of America, when the bridge was in the planning stage. After Moses turned down the initial proposal, the society undertooka public relations campaign to re-establish the reputation of the largely forgotten Verrazzano and to promote the idea of naming the bridge for him. The campaign was largely the effort of Society director John N. LaCorte, who in 1954 successfully lobbied New York Governor W. Averell Harriman to proclaim April 17 (the anniversary of Verrazano's arrival in the harbor) as Verrazano Day. Subsequent efforts by LaCorte resulted in similar proclamations by governors of states along the East Coast. After these successes, LaCorte reapproached the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority, but was turned down a second time. The manager of the authority, backed by Moses, said the name was too
long and that he had never heard of Verrazzano. [13]
The society later succeeded in lobbying to get a bill introduced in the New York State Assembly that would name the bridge for the explorer. After the introduction of the bill, the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce joined the society in promoting the name. The bill was signed into law in 1960 by
Governor Nelson Rockefeller. [14] Although the controversy seemed settled, the naming issue rose again in the last year of construction after the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. A petition to name the bridge for Kennedy received thousands of signatures. In response, LaCorte contacted United States Attorney General Robert Kennedy, the president's brother, who told LaCorte that he would make sure the bridge would not be named for his brother (Idlewild Airport, New York's major international airport, was renamed after
Kennedy instead). [13]
Even so, the official name was widely ignored by local news outlets at the time of the dedication. Some radio announcers and newspapers omitted any reference to Verrazano, referring to the bridge as the Narrows Bridge, or the Brooklyn-Staten Island Bridge. The society continued its lobbying efforts to promote the name in the following years until the name became firmly established. Today, it
is often referred to as just "the Verrazano." [13]
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Coast Guard on anti-terrorism patrol in Upper New York Bay. Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in distance spanning The Narrows between Brooklyn (left) and Staten Island (right).
In 2008, about 190,000 vehicles used the bridge per
day on average. [3]
As of December 2011, the one-way toll (paid westbound into Staten Island only) in cash is $13 per car or $5.50 per motorcycle. E-ZPass users with transponders issued by the New York E-ZPass Customer Service Center pay $9.60 per car or $4.18 per motorcycle; a five-axle truck pays $70, or$47.26 with NY E-ZPass. Holders of transponders issued
elsewhere get no discount. [15]
From 1964 to 1986, the toll was collected in both
directions [16] until Staten Island residents concerned about pollution from idling vehicles called for one way tolls. However, as of 2011 some of the eastbound toll booths are still in place, requiring drivers to slow down. While the high cost of the toll between Brooklyn and Staten Island has
always been an issue for residents, some [who?] favor the toll because they see it as a way to curb population growth on Staten Island. Each of the four bridges to the Island is tolled.
In 2010, eight of the unused Brooklyn-bound toll booths were removed in the first phase of a project to improve traffic flow at the toll plaza; the remaining three Brooklyn-bound toll booths will be subsequently removed during the second phase of
the construction project. [17]
As the bridge was not built with a pedestrian walkway, non-motorized transportation is limited to using bridge during special events such as the New
York City Marathon and Five Boro Bike Tour. [18]
Recently, residents living on both ends of the bridge have lobbied for pedestrian access. In October 2003, Mayor Michael Bloomberg promised to look into establishing the long-awaited pedestrian and bicycle
access. [19]
The bridge has been called New York's "most
dangerous bridge." [20]
Signs at both ends of the bridge forbid photography and video taping; however, it is not certain if the signs are intended to stop people from stopping on the bridge or ban photography and videography even from moving cars
The Golden Gate Bridge is a suspension bridge spanning the Golden Gate, the opening of the San Francisco Bay into the Pacific Ocean. As part of both U.S. Route 101 and California State Route 1, the structure links the city of San Francisco, on the northern tip of the San Francisco Peninsula, to Marin County. It is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of San Francisco, California, and of the United States. It has been declared one of the modern Wonders of the World by the American Society of Civil Engineers. The Frommers travel guide considers the Golden Gate Bridge "possibly the most beautiful, certainly the most
photographed, bridge in the world". [6]
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Ferry service
Golden Gate with Fort Point in foreground, c. 1891
Before the bridge was built, the only practical short route between San Francisco and what is now Marin County was by boat across a section of San Francisco Bay. Ferry service began as early as 1820, with regularly scheduled service beginning in the 1840s for purposes of transporting water to San
Francisco. [7] The Sausalito Land and Ferry Company service, launched in 1867, eventually became the Golden Gate Ferry Company, a Southern Pacific Railroad subsidiary, the largest ferry operation in
the world by the late 1920s. [7][8] Once for railroad passengers and customers only, Southern Pacific's automobile ferries became very profitable and
important to the regional economy. [9] The ferry crossing between the Hyde Street Pier in San Francisco and Sausalito in Marin County took approximately 20 minutes and cost US$1.00 per vehicle, a price later reduced to compete with the
new bridge. [10] The trip from the San Francisco Ferry Building took 27 minutes.
Many wanted to build a bridge to connect San Francisco to Marin County. San Francisco was the largest American city still served primarily by ferry boats. Because it did not have a permanent link with communities around the bay, the city's growth rate
was below the national average. [11] Many experts said that a bridge couldn’t be built across the 6,700 ft (2,042 m) strait. It had strong, swirling tides and currents, with water 500 ft (150 m) in depth at the center of the channel, and frequent strong winds. Experts said that ferocious winds and blinding fogs would prevent construction and
operation. [11]
Conception
Although the idea of a bridge spanning the Golden Gate was not new, the proposal that eventually took hold was made in a 1916 San Francisco Bulletin article by former engineering student James
Wilkins. [12] San Francisco's City Engineer estimated the cost at $100 million, impractical for the time, and fielded the question to bridge engineers of
whether it could be built for less. [7] One who responded, Joseph Strauss, was an ambitious but dreamy engineer and poet who had, for his graduate thesis, designed a 55-mile (89 km) long
railroad bridge across the Bering Strait. [13] At the time, Strauss had completed some 400 drawbridges—most of which were inland—and
nothing on the scale of the new project. [3] Strauss's
initial drawings [12] were for a massive cantilever on each side of the strait, connected by a central suspension segment, which Strauss promised could
be built for $17 million. [7]
Local authorities agreed to proceed only on the assurance that Strauss alter the design and accept input from several consulting project
experts. [citation needed] A suspension-bridge design was considered the most practical, because of
recent advances in metallurgy. [7]
Strauss spent more than a decade drumming up
support in Northern California. [14] The bridge faced opposition, including litigation, from many sources. The Department of War was concerned that the bridge would interfere with ship traffic; the navy feared that a ship collision or sabotage to the bridge could block the entrance to one of its main harbors. Unions demanded guarantees that local workers would be favored for construction jobs. Southern Pacific Railroad, one of the most powerful business interests in California, opposed the bridge as competition to its ferry fleet and filed a lawsuit against the project, leading to a mass boycott of the
ferry service. [7] In May 1924, Colonel Herbert Deakyne held the second hearing on the Bridge on behalf of the Secretary of War in a request to use Federal land for construction. Deakyne, on behalf of the Secretary of War, approved the transfer of land needed for the bridge structure and leading roads to the "Bridging the Golden Gate Association" and both San Francisco County and Marin County, pending
further bridge plans by Strauss. [15] Another ally was the fledgling automobile industry, which supported the development of roads and bridges to increase
demand for automobiles. [10]
The bridge's name was first used when the project was initially discussed in 1917 by M.M. O'Shaughnessy, city engineer of San Francisco, and Strauss. The name became official with the passage of the Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District Act
by the state legislature in 1923. [16]
Preliminary discussions leading to the eventual building of the Golden Gate Bridge were held on January 13, 1923, at a special convention in Santa Rosa, CA. The Santa Rosa Chamber was charged with considering the necessary steps required to foster the construction of a bridge across the Golden Gate by then Santa Rosa Chamber President Frank Doyle (the street Doyle Drive leading up to the bridge is named after him). On June 12, the Santa Rosa Chamber voted to endorse the actions of the "Bridging the Golden Gate Association" by attending the meeting of the Boards of Supervisors in San Francisco on June 23 and by requesting that the Board of Supervisors of Sonoma County also attend. By 1925, the Santa Rosa Chamber had assumed responsibility for circulating bridge petitions as the next step for the formation of the Golden Gate
Bridge. [citation needed]
Design
South tower seen from walkway
Strauss was chief engineer in charge of overall
design and construction of the bridge project. [11]
However, because he had little understanding or
experience with cable-suspension designs, [17]
responsibility for much of the engineering and architecture fell on other experts. Strauss' initial design proposal (two double cantilever spans linked by a central suspension segment) was unacceptable from a visual standpoint. The final graceful suspension design was conceived and championed by New York’s Manhattan Bridge designer Leon
Moisseiff. [18]
Irving Morrow, a relatively unknown residential architect, designed the overall shape of the bridge towers, the lighting scheme, and Art Deco elements such as the streetlights, railing, and walkways. The famous International Orange color was originally used as a sealant for the bridge. Many locals persuaded Morrow to paint the bridge in the vibrant orange color instead of the standard silver or gray,
and the color has been kept ever since. [19] The US Navy had wanted it to be painted with black and yellow stripes to ensure visibility by passing
ships. [11]
Senior engineer Charles Alton Ellis, collaborating remotely with Moisseiff, was the principal engineer
of the project. [20] Moisseiff produced the basic structural design, introducing his "deflection theory" by which a thin, flexible roadway would flex in the wind, greatly reducing stress by transmitting forces
via suspension cables to the bridge towers. [20]
Although the Golden Gate Bridge design has proved sound, a later Moisseiff design, the original Tacoma Narrows Bridge, collapsed in a strong windstorm soon after it was completed, because of an
unexpected aeroelastic flutter. [21]
Ellis was a Greek scholar and mathematician who at one time was a University of Illinois professor of engineering despite having no engineering degree (he eventually earned a degree in civil engineering from University of Illinois prior to designing the Golden Gate Bridge and spent the last twelve years of his career as a professor at Purdue University). He became an expert in structural design, writingthe
standard textbook of the time. [22] Ellis did much of the technical and theoretical work that built the bridge, but he received none of the credit in his lifetime. In November 1931, Strauss fired Ellis and replaced him with a former subordinate, Clifford Paine, ostensibly for wasting too much money
sending telegrams back and forth to Moisseiff. [22]
Ellis, obsessed with the project and unable to find work elsewhere during the Depression, continued working 70 hours per week on an unpaid basis, eventually turning in ten volumes of hand
calculations. [22]
With an eye toward self-promotion and posterity, Strauss downplayed the contributions of his collaborators who, despite receiving little
recognition or compensation, [17] are largely responsible for the final form of the bridge. He succeeded in having himself credited as the person most responsible for the design and vision of the
bridge. [22] Only much later were the contributions of the others on the design team properly
appreciated. [22] In May 2007, the Golden Gate Bridge District issued a formal report on 70 years of stewardship of the famous bridge and decided to give Ellis major credit for the design of the bridge.
Finance
The Golden Gate Bridge and Highway District, authorized by an act of the California Legislature, was incorporated in 1928 as the official entityto design, construct, and finance the Golden Gate
Bridge. [11] However, after the Wall Street Crashof 1929, the District was unable to raise the construction funds, so it lobbied for a $30 million bond measure. The bonds were approved in
November 1930, [13] by votes in the counties
affected by the bridge. [23] The construction budget at the time of approval was $27 million. However, the District was unable to sell the bonds until 1932, when Amadeo Giannini, the founder of San Francisco–based Bank of America, agreed on behalf of his bank to buy the entire issue in order to help
the local economy. [7]
Construction
Construction began on January 5, 1933. [7] The
project cost more than $35 million. [24] The Golden Gate Bridge construction project was carried out by the McClintic-Marshall Construction Co., a subsidiary of Bethlehem Steel Corporation, founded by Howard H. McClintic and Charles D. Marshall, both of Lehigh University.
Strauss remained head of the project, overseeing day-to-day construction and making some groundbreaking contributions. A graduate of the University of Cincinnati, he placed a brick from his alma mater's demolished McMicken Hall in the south anchorage before the concrete was poured. He innovated the use of movable safety netting beneath the construction site, which saved the lives of many otherwise-unprotected steelworkers. Of eleven men killed from falls during construction, ten were killed (when the bridge was near completion) when the net failed under the stress of a scaffold
that had fallen. [25] Nineteen others who were saved by the net over the course of construction became proud members of the (informal) Half Way to Hell
Club. [26]
The project was finished by April 1937, $1.3 million
under budget. [7]
Opening festivities and 50th anniversary
A pedestrian poses at the old railing on opening day, 1937.
Opening of the Golden Gate Bridge
The bridge-opening celebration began on May 27, 1937 and lasted for one week. The day before vehicle traffic was allowed, 200,000 people crossed
by foot and roller skate. [7] On opening day, Mayor Angelo Rossi and other officials rode the ferry to Marin, then crossed the bridge in a motorcade past three ceremonial "barriers", the last a blockade of beauty queens who required Joseph Strauss to present the bridge to the Highway District before allowing him to pass. An official song, "There's a Silver Moon on the Golden Gate", was chosen to commemorate the event. Strauss wrote a poem that is now on the Golden Gate Bridge entitled "The Mighty Task is Done." The next day, President Roosevelt pushed a button in Washington, D.C. signaling the official start of vehicle traffic over the Bridge at noon. When the celebration got out of hand, the SFPD had a small riot in the uptown Polk Gulch area. Weeks of civil and cultural activities called "the Fiesta" followed. A statue of Strausswas
moved in 1955 to a site near the bridge. [12]
In May 1987, as part of the 50th anniversary celebration, the Golden Gate Bridge district again closed the bridge to automobile traffic and allowed pedestrians to cross the bridge. However, this celebration attracted 750,000 to 1,000,000 people, and ineffective crowd control meant the bridge became congested with roughly 300,000 people, causing the center span of the bridge to flatten out under the weight. Although the bridge is designed to flex in that way under heavy loads, and was estimated not to have exceeded 40% of the yielding
stress of the suspension cables, [27] bridge officials have stated that uncontrolled pedestrian access is not being considered as part of the 75th anniversary
October 2004. [2][8] No timetable for completion has been announced. The first announced design was 8 times larger than the Palm Jumeirah, and 5 times larger than the Palm Jebel Ali, and was intended to house one million people. Originally, the design called for a 14 km (8.7 mi) by 8.5 km (5.3 mi) island with 41 fronds. Due to a substantial change in depth in the Persian Gulf the farther out the island goes, the island was redesigned in May 2007. The project then became a 12.5 km (7.8 mi) by 7.5 km (4.7 mi)
island with 18 larger fronds. [2] It will be located alongside Deira.
By early October 2007, 20% of the island's reclamation was complete, with a total of 200 million cubic metres (7 billion cubic feet) of sand
already used. [2] Then in early April 2008, Nakheel announced that more than a quarter of the total
area of the Palm Deira had been reclaimed. [9] This amounted to 300 million cubic metres (10.6 billion
cubic feet) of sand. [9] Since the island is so large, it is being developed in several phases. The first one is
the creation of Deira Island. [2] This portion of the Palm will sit alongside the Deira Corniche between the entrance to Dubai Creek and Al Hamriya Port. Promotional materials state that Deira Island will
act as "the gateway to The Palm Deira" [10] and help
to revitalize the aging area of Deira. [11] By early April 2008, 80% of Deira Island Front's reclamation
was complete. [9]
A new redesign was quietly introduced in November
2008, further reducing the size of the project. [12]
he Palm Islands are artificial peninsulas constructed of sand dredged from the bottom of the Persian Gulf by the Belgian company Jan De Nul and the Dutch company Van Oord. The sand is sprayed by the dredging ships, which are guided by DGPS, on to the required area in a process known as rainbowing because of the arcs in the air when the sand is sprayed. The outer edge of each Palm's encircling crescent is a large rock breakwater. The breakwater of the Palm Jumeirah has over seven million tons of rock. Each rock was placed individually by a crane, signed off by a diver and
given a GPS coordinate. [citation needed] The Jan De Nul Group started working on the Palm Jebel Ali in 2002 and had finished by the end of 2006. The reclamation project for the Palm Jebel Ali includes the creation of a four-kilometre-long peninsula, protected by a 200-metre-wide, seventeen-
kilometre long circular breakwater. 210,000,000 m 3
of rock, sand and limestone were reclaimed (partly originating from the Jebel Ali Entrance Channel dredging works). There are approximately 10,000,000 cubic metres of rocks in the slope protection works.
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Main article: Palm Jumeirah
The Palm Jumeirah seen from the International Space Station.
The Palm Jumeirah ( Coordinates: 25°06′28″N
55°08′15″E ) consists of a tree trunk, a crown with 16 fronds, and a surrounding crescent island that forms an 11 kilometer-long breakwater. The island itself is 5 kilometers by 5 kilometers. It will add 78 kilometers to the Dubai coastline. The first phase of development on the Palm Jumeirah will create 4,000 residences with a combination of villas and apartments over the next 3 to 4 years.
Residents began moving into their Palm Jumeirah properties at the end of 2006, five years after land reclamation began, according to project developer Nakheel Properties. This signaled the end of phase one of construction, which includes approximately 1,400 villas on 11 of the fronds of the island and roughly 2,500 shoreline apartments in 20 buildings on the east side of the trunk.
Nakheel Properties will mark the arrival of the first residents by bringing one of the world's largest airships to Dubai. It has agreed to a deal with Airship Management Services Inc. for a 197 feet
(60 m) long, 250,000-cubic-foot (7,100 m 3 ) Skyship 600 dirigible.
According to Nakheel Properties officials, the process of adding 78 kilometers of beach is under way, while eight of the 32 hotels on The Palm Jumeirah have begun construction, including the Taj Exotica Resort and Spa, which was planned for completion in late 2008 or early 2009, is delayed and now expected to open in early 2010. The first phase Atlantis, The Palm Resort, is scheduled to be completed by December 2008. Atlantis, The Palm opened on 24 September 2008.
The "Golden Mile", the strip of land located along the center of the trunk overlooking the canal, is set for completion in the first quarter of 2008. The tenants started moving in 30 April 2009. Construction has also begun on the Palm Jumeirah Monorail, which will take three years to complete and will serve as a transit system between the Gateway Station at the trunk of The Palm Jumeirah and the Atlantis Station on the crescent. (Emirates News Agency, WAM).The Monorail opened May 6, 2009 only using Atlantis Hotel and Gateway Towers Stations
The Palm Islands are an artificial archipelago in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on which major commercial and residential infrastructures will be constructed. They are being constructed by Nakheel Properties, a property developer in the United Arab Emirates, who hired Belgian and Dutch dredging and marine contractor Jan De Nul and Van Oord, some of the world's specialists in land reclamation. The islands are the Palm Jumeirah, the Palm Jebel Ali and the Palm Deira.
Each settlement will be in the shape of a palm tree, topped with a crescent, and will have a large number of residential, leisure and entertainment centers. The Palm Islands are located off the coast of The United Arab Emirates in the Persian Gulf and will add 520 kilometers of beaches to the cityof Dubai.
The first two islands will comprise approximately 100 million cubic meters of rock and sand. Palm Deira will be composed of approximately 1 billion cubic meters of rock and sand. All materials will be quarried in the UAE. Among the three islands there will be over 100 luxury hotels, exclusive residential beach side villas and apartments, marinas, water theme parks, restaurants, shopping malls, sports facilities and health spas.
The creation of the Palm Jumeirah began in June 2001. Shortly after, the Palm Jebel Ali was announced and reclamation work began. The Palm Deira, which is planned to have a surface area of 46.35 square kilometres, was announced for development in October 2004. Construction was originally planned to take 10–15 years, but that was before the impact of the global credit crunch hit Dubai.
Another artificial archipelagos, The World and The Universe, are placed between Palm Islands
pprSpace tourism is space travel for recreational, leisure or business purposes. A number of startup companies have sprung up in recent years, hoping to create a space tourism industry. Orbital space tourism opportunities have been limited and expensive, with only the Russian Space Agency providing transport to date.
The publicized price for flights brokered by Space Adventures to the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft have been US$ 20–35 million, during the period 2001–2009. Some space tourists have signed contracts with third parties to conduct certain research activities while in orbit.
Russia halted orbital space tourism in 2010 due to the increase in the International Space Station crew size, using the seats for expedition crews that would be sold to paying spaceflight participants. However, tourist flights are tentatively planned to resume in 2013, when the number of single-use three-person
Soyuz launches could rise to five a year. [1][2][3][4]
As an alternative term to "tourism", some organizations such as the Commercial Spaceflight Federation use the term "personal spaceflight." Citizens in Space uses the term "citizen space
The following are some of the largest dams in
the world as measured by sheer volume. While
they’re not all necessarily in the “top 10″ in
terms of size, they’re certainly sights worth
visiting.
10. SRISAILAM DAM – INDIA
Image Credit: Hari_Menon
Located on the Krishna River, the Srisailam Dam
was constructed in the Nallamala Hills in a gorge
that sits approximately 300 meters above sea
level. The dam was is one of the 12 largest in
the country in terms of hydroelectric power
production but was specifically built in order to
provide irrigation for the districts of Kurnool and
Cuddapah – both of which are prone to severe
droughts.
9. NAGARJUNA SAGAR – INDIA
Image Credit:.krish.Tipirneni.
The Nagarjuna Sagar Dam can be found in the
Nalgonda district of Andhra Pradesh in India.
Considered one of the largest ever built in Asia,
this dam was completed in 1966 and features
26 individual crest gates. As far as construction
is concerned, this dam is the tallest in the world
to be made strictly from masonry and its
creation resulted in the third largest man-made
lake on the globe. The dam and its canals are
incredibly important to the ability to irrigate
nearby land.
8. VERZASCA DAM – SWITZERLAND
Image Credit: Sint Smeding
The Verzasca Dam, also known as the Contra
dam, was built between 1960 and 1965 in Val
Verzasca, Switzerland. The dam was built by
Verzasca SA, a company that generates
electricity on the site and will continue to do so
until at least 2046. The Lago di Vogorno
reservoir is artificial, created by the dam itself,
and has been responsible for causing
earthquakes during times when it is filled.
7. ATATURK DAM – TURKEY
Image Credit: Kel Patolog
Completed in 1990, the Ataturk Dam in Turkey is
a rock-fill dam found on the Euphrates River.
Originally named the Karababa Dam, the site
was later renamed in order to honor the founder
of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.
The dam is responsible for irrigating the regions
plains as well as for generating electricity.
6. MANGLA DAM – PAKISTAN
The twelfth largest dam in the world was built in
1967 and was funded in part by the World Bank.
The Mangla Dam came into creation thanks to
the 1960 signing of the Indus Waters Treaty in
which rights to the waters contained in the Ravi,
Beas, and Suglej rivers were given to Pakistan.
Before the dam was built Pakistan’s irrigation
system relied solely on the flow of the Indus
River – most of which was completely
unregulated.
5. TARBELA – PAKISTAN
Completed back in 1976, the Tarbela Dam, also
known as Torabela or Pashto, is considered to
be the largest dam ever constructed on
Pakistan’s Indus River. While it’s not the largest
dam in the world overall, it is the largest dam
filled naturally by the earth. The dam stores
water in order to not only control flooding but
for use in irrigation and the production of hydro-
electric energy as well.
4. FORT PECK – UNITED STATES
Image Credit: Jvstin
The Fort Peck Dam in northeast Montana is one
of six dams found on the Missouri River.
Construction of this dam began in 1933 as part
of the New Deal put forth by President Franklin
D. Roosevelt and enabled over 11,000 workers
to have gainful employment during the course
of construction. The dam, which is solely
responsible for the formation of Fort Peck Lake,
is used to control flooding and generate power.
3. ASWAN DAM – EGYPT
Image Credit: upyernoz
The Aswan Dam is actually a pair of dams – the
Aswan High Dam and the Aswan Low Dam. In
ancient times it was known that the River Nile
would flood each summer as the waters flowed
down from East Africa. As the population along
the river grew it became necessary to find a way
to control flooding in this area. Now the land is
still fertile enough for farming and the people no
longer have to worry about drought but the
fields aren’t in danger of being wiped out due to
flooding, either.
2. SYNCRUDE TAILINGS – CANADA
Located near Fort McMurray in Alberta, Canada,
the Syncrude Tailings Dam is approximately
540,000,000 meters in volume. The dam is
currently maintained by a company known as
Syncrude Canada Ltd – a company responsible
for oil extraction in the Athabasca Oil Sands. The
dam serves as a barrage used to store tailings –
or leftover slimes and residues – that appear as
byproducts of the oil extraction operation.
1. THREE GORGES – CHINA
Image Credit: jasmin0916
The Three Gorges Dam in China is projected to
be the absolute largest in the world. Expected to
hold over 39,300,000,000 in volume, the
reservoir is complete but the actual dam itself
will not be completed until later this year. The
construction of this dam had a huge impact on
life in Sandouping, resulting not only in the
relocation of dozens of villages but in the
scenery as well. Because of the height of the
Three Gorges Dam the mountains now look a bit
lower than they actually are.
These dams are not only amongst the largest,
but are considered some of the most functional,
beautiful, and aesthetically pleasing in the world.
Don’t hesitate to visit one if you’re ever in the
area. Seeing one of the enormous dams in
person will prove to be an absolutely
breathtaking experience.
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