We are solar, surface beings. We have houses on land and we do 99% of our activities in this environment. Still, the underground world is not something very alien to us.To prove it, we have mining explorations, speleology, activities that make people go dozens of feet underground. However people that actually practice these activities are only a handful. Tunnels are a way we can explore the unknown “underground”. Either they are road tunnels, rail road tunnels, or subway networks, millions of people world wide travel underground each day. Let’s talk a bit about the top tunnels of the world.
Laerdal Tunnel – Sogn og Fjordane, Norway
Almost 5000 explosions were required during the construction of this tunnel, which spreads under the mountains of Norway, on a 25 km distance. being the longest finished road tunnel in the world. Still, driving for 20 minutes underground can become boring, so a team of psychologists and engineers developed some methods with the help of which they can stimulate the drivers. Because of the size of the tunnel, the environment and lightning inside it should be carefully projected. Some solutions include glowing blue light and subtle curves designed to keep drivers on “alert”. The most important thing is the fact that the tunnel is spread in a few different sections, which gives the impression to drivers that they are driving through smaller tunnels.
Channel Tunnel, Location: Coquelles, France
This tunnel connects England to France. Finished in 1995, the 50 km long tunnel required costs of more than 20 billion dollars to be finished. The rail road connection between France and England is an idea that defied possibilities for hundreds of years. There were other attempts, but they got stuck because of different reasons, technological and political. In the end, binding modern machines with the economic benefit of connecting these two countries contributed to the finishing of the project, and it resulted one of the most impressive structures of all times. To handle the unexpected situations and accidents, to developers also built a third, smaller working tube, between the two main ones, to serve as an escape route.
Drivers will stumble across this impressive structure between Mount Zion National Park and Bryce Canyon National Park, both situated in Utah. The building of the tunnel dates from the starting years of the National Park Service of the US and received a great inauguration on 4 July, 1930. A series of windows are dug in the superior sides of the tunnel, providing amazing sights for drivers. The rocky formations inside the tunnel but also the atmosphere are really amazing.
The Contraband tunnel
Location: Tijuana, Mexico
Skillful robbers have always used underground tunnels to do their deeds, especially when robbing banks and trafficking drugs. In the last decade, a high number of so call contraband tunnels have been discovered in the US, coming from Canada and also from Mexico. On December 2009, US and Mexico officials discovered a more than 300 meters long tunnel, out of which 260 were spreading under the united States. The tunnel, although incomplete, was equipped with illumination systems, ventilation, electricity and even an elevator. According to a statement released by the DEA, the Contraband tunnel was under construction for 2 years.
The Marmaray Tunnel
Location: Istanbul, Turkey
The construction of this intercontinental tunnel started in 2004, but archeological discoveries and other problems have delayed the construction. The tunnel will host it’s first rail road route that will connect two different continents in order to connect the European side of Istanbul with it’s Asian one. The structure requires that big portions of the tunnel to be built on a dry platform to float in water and sink. The maximum water depth is 55 meters.
Thames tunnel
Location: London, England
At first sight, this is not an impressive tunnel: it’s 400 meters long and 20 in depth are fading when compared to other tunnels in the world. However, the Thames tunnel is an historic landmark in designing these structures. We are referring to the first tunnel in the world that is sank in water. The construction of the Thames Tunnel was an innovation at the beginning of the 19th century, and visitors paid money in order to get access to the working area. When the tunnel was finished, in 1843, Queen Victoria knighted Brunel for his contribution that was about the change the engineering world.
