Megaprojects that changed America forever
Feb 21, 2020
How have megaprojects changed the American landscape?
The evidence is all around us. From the soaring skyscrapers to the railroads and highways that criss-cross the entire country. Major Capital Projects like these are the byproduct of big dreams. These megaprojects have changed the way we live and travel. It takes a transformative collaboration of engineers, construction workers, financiers, architects, and designers.
Here are just a few of the significant major capital projects that have forever altered the American landscape:
- Delaware Aquaduct. New York in the 18th and 19th centuries were plagued with catastrophic water shortages and contamination. In 1776, one fire burned nearly a quarter of New York City. The contamination crisis was so bad that an 1832 cholera epidemic killed over 3,500 people. The city realized it needed to take decisive action in order to safeguard the city's public water supply.
- Erie Canal. Since the early 1780s, New Yorkers have been mulling ideas of the best way to connect the Atlantic Ocean to the Great Lakes. This pre-dates railroad routes when all goods had to be shipped or go by pack-animal. Waterways were deemed the safest and most effective way to travel. It took thousands of workers, mostly newly arrived immigrants, to create the 40-foot wide canal. The megaproject was finished in 1825 and had a lasting impact to reduce the price of shipping and trade across the region.
- Transcontinental Railroad. In the mid-19th century, the United States Congress began designing a plan to connect the east and west coasts via a railroad line. After much surveying, it was concluded that the line should start in Council Bluffs, Iowa. President Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act in 1862, greenlighting the major capital project officially. The work was not completed until after the conclusion of the Civil War. Many displaced veterans and immigrants were used to complete the massive 1,912 mile-long megaproject.
Read the source article at MSN.com
From soaring skyscrapers to coast-to-coast railroads and highways, America has seen some of the world’s largest and most impressive megaprojects. Engineers, architects, designers, and financiers with big dreams have help formed not only the landscape of America, but also the way Americans travel and live. Click through the gallery above as we look at why 20 significant megaprojects were built, what they cost and what they look like today.
