03 Track 3

Unit 7

Great structures

Chapter 2

Modern engineering wonders

page 93

Modern engineering wonders

Great Engineering has selected five wonders of 21st-century engineering for our Excellence Prize. Now we’re asking you to vote for one and tell us why!

Falkirk Wheel (Falkirk, Scotland, 2001) The Falkirk Wheel is the world’s only rotating boat lift.

Its steel arms each hold a water-filled tank into which boats can sail. As the wheel rotates, so do the arms, raising and lowering the boats a distance of 25 meters.

The wheel is very energy efficient, using about two kilowatt-hours to make a full rotation. That’s about the same amount of energy needed to power a microwave for three minutes.

Millau Viaduct (Millau, France, 2005)

The 2.46-kilometer-long Millau Viaduct over the River Tam in the south of France is 270 meter high - the highest bridge in the world.

It was built in just three years! It is an amazing bridge that adds to the natural beauty of the river valley.

Langeled Pipeline (The North Sea, 2007) This pipeline under the ocean carries natural gas across the 1,200 kilometers of rocky sea bed from Norway to Britain. It is the longest pipeline of its kind, and it helps supply 20 percent of Britain’s gas.

Three Gorges Dam (Yichang, China, 2008)

Three Gorges Dam is the largest dam for electric power in the world. Its 1.6-kilometer-long wall across the Yangtze River rises 183 meters above the valley floor. It can hold back 39 million cubic meters of water.

Venice Tied Barrier (Venice, Italy, estimated 2014)

In 1966, the city of Venice was flooded into meters of ocean water. To prevent this from happening again, the Italian government is building 78 walls, each about 600 square meters.

When the water level of the Adriatic Sea reaches to a dangerous level and threatens to flood the city, the walls will rise to protect it.