hoover damage construction MEGA STRUCTURE

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burj-al-arab construction - mega structure

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Great belt bridge

Great Belt Fixed Link

The Great Belt Bridge (The East Bridge)

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

long term residual symptoms

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Akashi Kaikyō Bridge detail

石海峡大橋 ? )

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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Hide Use

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

is used by approximately 23,000 cars per day

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Yangpu Bridge construction detail & video

Yangpu Bridge

Yangpu 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

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Verrazano-Narrows Bridge construction detail and video

Verrazano-Narrows Bridge

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

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golden gate bridge detail & video of construction

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

to be held Sunday, May 27, 2012

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palm Deira detail & video

The Palm Deira was announced for development in

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]

25°20′00″N 55°16′05″

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palm island construction details and video

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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Hide Palm Jumeirah

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

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palm island - Dubai

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

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Evidence for alien can built giza pyramids

The pyramid is highlighted in red, and its
two diagonals are extended beyond the end
of the pyramid to the north-east and north-
west.  The mass of squiggly lines above the
pyramid is the Delta of the Nile River, and,
as you can see the two diagonals encase the
Nile neatly and entirely. IS THAT A
COINCIDENCE???
Yes,  I'm sure that the way the Egyptians did
this was to have someone walk hundreds of
miles to the end of the delta and hold a
really, really long piece of string while
someone walked all the way back to the site
of the pyramid.  Then,  those two people
stood there while two more people repeated
the process on the other side of the Pyramid.
Just so that they could build a big building in
such a way that its diagonals lie on those two
lines.
NOW THAT IS LIKELY????
Here is what really happened: A couple of
aliens, flying high enough over the earth to
be able to see where the Nile Delta's origin
is, easily saw what orientation the pyramid
would need to be in order to have its
diagonals  lie on those two lines.
Second piece of evidence:
The big dark shape on the upper left of this
diagram is the great pyramid.  If you look at
the compass rose in the bottom right, you can
see that the pyramid is lined up exactly with
the magnetic North Pole,  a difference of
only 16 minutes, or some absurdly small
number like that (there are 60 minutes in
one degree).  COINCIDENCE?   How could the
Egyptians possibly have built their pyramid
facing the exact magnetic North Pole without
even having a compass?  FYI, a compass was
not invented for a few thousand years after
the ancient Egyptians were long gone? IS
THAT LIKELY????
This is how it really worked: Those aliens,
abundant in their knowledge and drowning
in technology, came along and using their
compasses,  they landed on earth and found
the actual magnetic north and south poles.
THEN THEY BUILT THE PYRAMIDS!
Now look at this:
This is a photograph of the Great Pyramid of
Giza, and its neighbor, as seen from the
Sphinx, on the evening of the summer
solstice.  As you can see,  the sun is setting in
the exact center of the two pyramids.
COINCIDENCE???
For the Egyptians to be able to do this, they
must have known the day of the summer
solstice, and they therefore,  must have
known the exact length of the year, or
365.25;  once again, a fact not discovered
until long after the Egyptians were gone.
HOW LIKELY IS THAT???
The real story goes like this:   Those
meddling aliens, in all of their infinite
wisdom, saw the earth upon entering the
solar system, and by calculating the size of its
revolutions around the sun,  the velocity it
was at which it traveled and the angle of its
axis of rotation,  they were able to easily
calculate the longest day of the year or the
length of the year.
THEN BUILT THE PYRAMIDS!
Here is another photo:
This is a photograph taken on the day of the
winter solstice from the entrance of the
Great Pyramid.  The Big shape silhouetted in
the middle of the photograph is the Sphinx.
Since this is only a photograph, and not a
movie,  you can't get the full effect.   But
even in the photo, you can see that the sun is
tracing around the Sphinx's head.  In
actuality,  the sun rises exactly at the left side
of the base of the Sphinx's head.   Then it
traces it all the way around until it sets on
the right side of the Sphinx's head.
COINCIDENCE???
Had the Egyptians done this,   since this
occurs only on the day of the winter solstice,
they would have had to have known the
exact length of a year.
IS THAT LIKELY???
It's those aliens,  who after finding the length
of the year,  found the shortest day of the
year, and then built their Sphinx and
Pyramid accordingly.
Consider this:
This above image is a diagram of the stars of
the Belt of Orion.  Now look at the diagram
of the pyramids below.
Though this fact is not as remarkable, the
positioning of the three Pyramids of Giza are
exactly aligned with the position of the three
stars in the belt of Orion, both in position
and in size. While it is possible,  it would
create many difficulties for the Egyptians in
terms of measuring huge distances. Not only
this,  but in fact,  at the time that the
pyramids were supposedly built (about 3000
BC), the stars that make up the Belt of Orion
were not exactly at the correct angle to
match up with the pyramids.   If the location
of the stars is traced back over thousands of
years,  the time at which the belt is exactly
aligned with the pyramids is in fact 10,500
BC.  A time when there were supposedly no
civilized   humans living on the earth.
Another fact to support this is, if you
consider the Sphinx,  a lion with a human
head and then look at the size of the body,
you can see that the body is perfectly
proportioned for the head of a lion,  not the
human head.   This human head  looks tiny
and silly sitting on top of the body. This is
because the Sphinx was actually built in
10,500 BC,  around the same time as the
pyramids,  with a real head of a lion.
Evidence to support this is that there are
signs of water erosion all over the Sphinx.
The last time that there was any water
nearby, aside from the Nile is around 10,000
BC.  Also,  the constellation of Leo the Lion
(thus closely related to the Sphinx), was in
fact rising directly behind the sun in 10,500
BC.
Are they saying that the Egyptians built their
pyramids to be in the exact shape of Orion's
Belt, but purposely aligned them differently
from what was actually in the sky?  That
after they built the Sphinx, they purposely
made the head look small and funny?  Then,
they broke their backs carrying water from
the Nile just so that they could put water
erosion lines all over the body?????
In fact,  no Egyptian did it at all.  The aliens,
with their plethora of wisdom,  came down
in the year 10,500 BC and built the Pyramids
and the Sphinx.  They built it with a head of
a lion to match the Belt of Orion, as well as
the constellation of Leo.  Thousands of years
later, Ramses, the egomaniacal dictator-
pharaoh of Egypt,  decided that he didn't like
having the head of a lion on top of the statue
in his land. So,  he had a head in his own
likeness constructed instead.  But the
Egyptians, not being very skilled at huge
masonry, built the head somewhat too small.
Why is it that the great Pyramids of Giza,
built in 3,000, are perfect, and still standing
as tall as the day they were built? (Aside
from the capstone and the polished stones,
which were stripped by humans in the
building of Cairo)  The other Pyramids,
which were supposedly built about 500 years
later, all have shoddy masonry, and are
crumbling down.  An example of this is the
famous 'bent' pyramid,  which  started out
with the sides being built at one angle,  then
suddenly shifts in the middle to a shallower
angle.  This is because the angle at which it
was started  was much too steep for it to
stand when finished.   It is because the
Egyptian pharaohs saw the great pyramids
standing on their land and decided that they
wanted pyramids of their own.  But they
found that it was much harder to do than
was expected and ended up building silly
looking structures that don't even come close
to comparing with the magnitude of
elegance emanating from the great
pyramids.
Other startling evidence:
If you take the perimeter of the pyramid and
divide it by two times the height,  you get a
number that is exactly equivalent to the
number pi (3.14159...) up to the fifteenth
digit.  The chances of this phenomenon
happening by sheer chance is remarkably
small.  Did the ancient Egyptians know what
the number pi was?  Not likely,  seeing as it
was a number not calculated accurately to
the fourth digit until the 6th century, and
the pyramids calculate it to the fifteenth.
What about the fact that even though the
sides of the base of the pyramid are some
757 feet long, it still forms an almost perfect
square?  Every angle in the base is exactly
90 degrees.   In fact,  the sides have a
difference in length of something like two
centimeters, which is an incredibly small
amount.
What about the fact that although the
Egyptians kept very careful records about
everything they ever did;  every king they
had, every war they fought,  and every
structure they built, there were no records of
them ever having built the pyramids?
What about the fact that the Egyptians had
not even invented the wheel yet,  but the
blocks that they had to carry to build the
pyramids weighed about 2 tons each? 4,000
lbs.? What did they do... use cement?   In
fact, they used so much stone, that if you took
all of the stone they used and cut it into 1
foot square blocks, it would extend 2/3 of the
way around the earth!!!
If you take the line of longitude that the
pyramid lies on and the latitude that the
pyramid lies on,  31 degrees north by 31
degrees west (the fact that they are the same
number is a coincidence???) they are the
two lines that cover the most combined land
area in the world. In essence, the pyramid is
the center of all of the land mass of the
whole earth!!!!
How about the fact that a group of modern
scientists  attempted to build a pyramid out
next to the real one using modern
technologies, and after something like 100
days, succeeded in building one about 1/40
of the size of the real one????
Did you know that the height of the pyramid
(481 feet) is almost exactly 1/1,000,000,000
of the distance from the earth to the sun
(480.6 billion feet)?
What about all of that fungi that was found
in King Tutu's chamber?   Fungi which has
never before been seen on earth?  What
about the Pharaoh's curse????? You decide,
who built the Pyramids?????

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Big temple- thanjavur

Dravidians mainly tamil peoples famously known for their construction work around their ruled place. They construct many beautiful structures like thanjavur big temple , madurai meenaachi amman kovil , many cultural heritage place ,etc. Many heritage build by them were destroyed by the foreigner. One of legend structure stand still today is thanjavur Brihadeeswarar temple. The Peruvudaiyar Koyil
( Tamil peruvuḍaiyār
kōyil ? ), also known as Brihadeeswarar
Temple and Rajarajeswaram , [1] at Thanjavur
in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu , is the world's
first complete granite temple [2] and a brilliant
example of the major heights achieved by
Cholas in Tamil architecture. It is a tribute and a
reflection of the power of its patron RajaRaja
Chola I . It remains India's largest temple [3] and
is one of the greatest glories of Indian
architecture. [4] The temple is part of the
UNESCO World Heritage Site "Great Living Chola
Temples ".
This temple is one of India's most prized
architectural sites. The temple stands amidst
fortified walls that were probably added in the
16th century. The vimana — or the temple
tower — is 216 ft (66 m) high[5][6] and is
among the tallest of its kind in the world. The
Kumbam (or Kalash or Chikharam) (apex or the
bulbous structure on the top) of the temple is
not carved out of a single stone as widely
believed. [ citation needed] There is a big statue
of Nandi (sacred bull), carved out of a single
rock, at the entrance measuring about 16 feet
long and 13 feet high. [7] The entire temple
structure is made out of hard granite stones, a
material sparsely available in Thanjavur area
where the temple is. Built in 1010 AD by Raja
Raja Chola in Thanjavur, Brihadishwara Temple
also popularly known as the ‘Big Temple' turned
1000 years old in 2010.
History
The temple had its foundations laid out by the
Tamil emperor Arulmozhivarman, popularly
called Rajaraja Chola I,( Tamil
Rājarāja Choļan ? ) in 1002 CE, as the
first of the great Tamil Chola building projects.
[8] The temple was built by Rajaraja Chola, one
of the greatest Tamil emperors to grace the
throne of the Chola empire in compliance of a
command given to him in his dream. [9][7] The
scale and grandeur is in the Chola tradition. An
axial and symmetrical geometry rules the
temple layout. [10] Temples from this period
and the following two centuries are an
expression of the Tamils (Chola) wealth, power
and artistic expertise. The emergence of such
features as the multi faceted columns with
projecting square capitals signal the arrival of
the new Chola style. [11]
The Brihadeeswarar Temple was built to be the
royal temple to display the emperor's vision of
his power and his relationship to the universal
order. The temple was the site of the major
royal ceremonies such as anointing the emperor
and linking him with its deity, Shiva , and the
daily rituals of the deities were mirrored by
those of the king. The temple maintained a staff
of 600 people in various
capacities. [citation needed ] Besides the Brahmin
priests, these included record-keepers,
musicians, scholars, and craftsman of every
type as well as housekeeping staff. In those days
the temple was a hub of business activities for
the flower, milk, oil, and ghee merchants, all of
whom made a regular supply of their respective
goods for the temple for its poojas and during
festival seasons. Moreover as evidenced by the
inscriptions that found in the compound wall of
this temple, the temple had always been serving
as a platform for the dancers who excelled in the
traditional dance form of Bharatnatyam.It has
been said that the temple's kalasam weighs 50
tons which has since been a mystery on how it
may have been transported to the top.In
addition,much confusion has remained between
arechaeologists due to the fact that the temple
has been built more than 1000 years ago and
has never met consrtuction failure because of
the supposed weight of the kalasam .This
displays the ancient Tamil's excellent knowledge
in craftmenship and construction. Even today,
the Brihadeeswarar Temple remains India's
largest temple. [3]
It is an architectural exemplar showcasing the
pure form of the Dravida type of temple
architecture and representative of the Chola
Empire ideology and the Tamil civilisation in
Southern India . The temples "testify to the
brilliant achievements of the Chola in
architecture, sculpture, painting and bronze
casting." [12]
The temple was consecrated in 1010 CE by Raja
Raja Chola I. Millennial year celebrations
happened in 2010.
Temple complex
[[]]. The massive size of the main sikhara
(although it is hollow on the inside and not
meant to be occupied) is 63 meters high, with
16 severely articulated stories, and dominates
the main quadrangle. Pilaster, piers, and
attached columns are placed rhythmically
covering every surface of the shikhara.
[3] File:Brihadeeswarar Temple 02.jpg|thumb|
Temple gateway]] The temple complex sits on
the banks of a river that was channeled to make
a moat around the complex's outer walls, the
walls being built like a fortress. The complex is
made up of many structures that are aligned
axially. The complex can be entered either on
one axis through a five-story gopuram or with a
second access directly to the huge main
quadrangle through a smaller free-standing
[[gopuram
Main temple
The main temple is in the center of the spacious
quadrangle composed of a sanctuary, a Nandi ,
a pillared hall and an assembly hall ( mandapas ),
and many sub- shrines. The most important part
of the temple is the inner mandapa which is
surrounded by massive walls that are divided
into levels by sharply cut sculptures and
pilasters providing deep bays and recesses. Each
side of the sanctuary has a bay emphasizing the
principle cult icons. [10] The karuvarai, a Tamil
word meaning the interior of the sanctum
sanctorum, is the inner most sanctum and focus
of the temple where an image of the primary
deity , Shiva, resides. Inside is a huge stone
linga. The word Karuvarai means "womb
chamber" from Tamil word karu for foetus. Only
priests are allowed to enter this inner-most
chamber. [13]
In the Dravida style, the Karuvarai takes the
form of a miniature vimana with other features
exclusive to southern Indian temple architecture
such as the inner wall together with the outer
wall creating a pradakshina around the
garbhagriha for circumambulation
( pradakshina ). The entrance is highly decorated.
The inside chamber housing the image of the
god is the sanctum sanctorum, the garbhagriha .
[11] The garbhagriha is square and sits on a
plinth , its location calculated to be a point of
total equilibrium and harmony as it is
representative of a microcosm of the universe.
In the center is placed the image of the deity.
[10] The royal bathing-hall where Rajaraja the
great gave gifts is to the east of the hall of
Irumudi-Soran.
The circumambulation winds around the
massive lingam in the garbhagriha and is
repeated in an upper story, presenting the idea
that Chola Empire freely offered access to the
gods. [3]
The inner mandapa leads out to a rectangular
mandapa and then to a twenty-columned porch
with three staircases leading down. Sharing the
same stone plinth is a small open mandapa
dedicated to Nandi, Shiva's sacred bull
mount.fully stone top to bottem ever saw in the
planet. [10]
Adjoining structures
Shrine of Ganapathy
Surrounding the main temple are two walled
enclosures. The outer wall is high, defining the
temple complex area. Here is the massive
gopuram or gateway mentioned above. Within
this a portico, a barrel vaulted gorpuram with
over 400 pillars , is enclosed by a high wall
interspersed with huge gopurams axially lined
up to the main temple.
Origin of idea
The wish to build a mammoth temple like this is
said to have occurred to Raja Raja while he
stayed at Sri Lanka as an emperor.
Other
Not only the temple and the "moolavar", (prime
deity, Shiva) but all other deities (Koshta
Moorthigal) like Dakshinamurthy, Suriyan (Sun),
Chandran (Moon) are very huge sized.
Especially, Brahadeeswar temple is one of the
rare temples which has statues for "Ashta dik
paalakas" (Lords of all Eight Directions) — Indra,
Varuna, Agni, Eesana, Vayu, Niruthi, Yama,
Kubera — each of which is a life-like status, i.e.,
approximately 6 feet tall.
Features
The temple is made up of 130,000 tons of
granite. The 60-metre tall vimana is the tallest in
South India. A European-like figure which is
carved on the vimana is believed to be an
ancient warning of the arrival of the British.
Later investigations by archaeologists proposed
that this carving may be a hoax. It is widely
believed that the shadow of the gopuram never
falls on the ground. However, some scholars
have dismissed this as a myth. [14][15][16]
The tons of stone was taken, with the help of
hundreds of elephants, from Thirukoilore (birth
place of Raja raja's mother) near Sri
Virateshvara swamy temple. The kumbam, on
top of the temple was believed to have taken to
the top by creating a slope from the ground to
the 66m gopuram made of soil. Then elephants
would drag the stone to the top of gopuram.
This the only temple whose shadow of the
pillars and the gopuram does not fall on the
ground.
Travel information
Further information: Transport in Thanjavur
Thanjavur can be reached easily by road, rail
and air. Tamil Nadu state government runs
frequent public buses from nearby Trichy,
Chennai, Kumbakonam, Pudukkottai,
Pattukkottai, Tirunelveli, Karur, Nagapattinam,
Coimbatore and many other cities in the state.
From the state capital Chennai, a National
Highway (NH 45-A) linking Chennai with
Chidambaram, Mayavaram, Kumbakonam,
Thanjavur, and Nagappatinam provides
convenient access to tourists who come to visit
Thanjavur and the adjoining towns. There are
also several buses operated by private bus
operators.
Rail services are run by Indian Railways from
many cities across India including Chennai,
Trichy, Tirunelveli, Madurai and Nagore. The
train station is Thanjavur Junction.
Tiruchirapalli Airport is the nearest airport,
located 65 km away.
Millennium celebrations
5 Commemorative postage stamp
issued by India Post in 2010 as part
of the millennium year celebrations
A 5 Special Commemorative coin
released by Reserve Bank of India
to mark the millennium year
celebrations of the famous
Brihadeeswarar Temple built by the
great Chola ruler Raja Raja Chola I
1000 currency note released by
Reserve Bank of India on 01 April,
1954 to honor the historic
Brahadeeswarar Temple, a UNESCO
World heritage site
Built in the year 1010 CE by Raja Raja Chola in
Thanjavur, Brihadeeswarar Temple popularly
known as the ‘Big Temple’ turned 1000 years
old in September 2010. To celebrate the 1000th
year of the grand structure, the state
government and the town held many cultural
events. It was to recall the 275th day of his
25th regal year (1010 CE) when Raja Raja Chola
(985–1014 CE) handed over a gold-plated
kalasam (copper pot or finial ) for the final
consecration to crown the vimana , the 59.82
metre tall tower above the sanctum. [17][18]
[19]
Bharathanatyam Yajna
To mark the occasion, the state government
organised a Bharathanatyam Yajna, classical
dance show under noted dancer Padma
Subramaniam . It was jointly organised by the
Association of Bharatanatyam Artistes of India
(ABHAI) and the Brhan Natyanjali Trust,
Thanjavur. To mark the 1000th year anniversary
of the building, 1000 dancers from New Delhi,
Mumbai , Pune , Tamilnadu , Andhra Pradesh ,
Karnataka, Kerala , Singapore, Malaysia and the
U.S. danced in concert to the recorded 11
verses of divine music Thiruvichaippa (ninth of
Thirumurai) composed by Karuvur Thevar (the
guru of Raja Raja Chola) named Tiruvisaippa.
The small town turned into a cultural hub for
two days beginning September 26, 2010 as
street performers and dancers performed
throughout the town. [20][21]
Commemorative stamp and coin
On September 26, 2010 (Big Temple’s fifth day
of millennium celebrations), as a recognition of
Big Temple’s contribution to the country’s
cultural, architectural, epigraphical history, a
special 5 postage stamp featuring the 216-
feet tall giant Raja Gopuram was released by
India Post .
The Reserve Bank of India commemorated the
event by releasing a 5 coin with the model of
temple embossed on it. [22][23] A Raja, Cabinet
Minister of Communications and Information
Technology released the esteemed
Brihadeeswarar Temple special stamp, the first
of which was received by G K Vasan , Cabinet
Minister of Shipping . On April 1, 1954, the
Reserve Bank of India released a 1000
currency note featuring a panoramic view of the
Brihadeeswara Temple marking its cultural
heritage and significance. In 1975, the then
government led by Prime Minister Indira Gandhi
demonetized all 1,000 currency notes in an
effort to curtail black money . These notes are
now popular among collectors. [24]
Tamil Nadu chief minister, M Karunanidhi
renamed Semmai Paddy , a special type of high
productivity paddy variant, as Raja Rajan-1000
to mark the millennial year celebration of the
Big Temple’s builder, Raja Raja Cholan . [25]
Brihadeeswarar Temple in historic
novels
Balakumaran has written a novel Udaiyar
themed on the life of Raja Raja Chola I and
construction of the Brihadeeswarar temple.
Before that Kalki written a famous novel
"Ponniyin Selvan" based on the life of Raja Raja
Chola I

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T30 building china

30-storey prefab tower constructed in
15 days
On the 18th January China’s latest impressive
structure will open for business. This is no
‘iconic’ or ‘landmark’ tower, glistening
commercial building or tallest spire. What sets
this structure apart is its breakneck construction
speed - the entire 30-storey building was
erected in just 15 days.
The T30 Hotel is the latest project of Zhang Yue
of the Broad Group - a Chinese construction
company specialising in sustainable building
design - and features quadruple-glazed windows
and 15cm-thick glass curtain wall insulation. The
prefabricated tower has been designed to be
highly sustainable both in construction and day-
to-day running, with a heat recovery system
and energy-saving lights throughout.
Zhang explains: “We need to speed up our
environmental thinking. We need buildings like
this all over China. In 2013 we will build 20
buildings a month and by 2014, we’ll be up to
50 buildings. China is 20-40 times more
polluted than Europe and that’s hurting our
health and will offset economic benefits of our
growth.”
Built by 200 construction workers in just 360
hours, the 17,000 sq m hotel has been tested
by the China Academy of Building Research and
can resist a magnitude nine earthquake. A six
minute time lapse video of the building’s
staggering construction speed has amassed over
two million hits on YouTube and spawned
countless blog posts, and Twitter is abuzz with
links to the film.

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