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ASCE's Monuments of The Millennium
One hundred years ago, life was a constant struggle against disease, pollution
and poor living conditions. The disposal of waste generated by human activity
posed a significant threat to health and welfare. Without means of direct and
efficient transportation, it was difficult if not possible for people to do
much of what many of us take for granted today: get to work daily, have fresh
produce and other goods and create and sustain intrastate and interstate businesses.
The economic growth and development of geographically close communities was
stifled by large bodies of water flowing between them.
By the end of the 20th century, civil engineering had made the world a healthier,
safer and more productive place. Civil engineers planned and constructed ?
often under perilous conditions ? projects that not only made daily life
easier, safer and more productive, but also symbolized the best that the human
spirit can offer.
As we entered the new millennium, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
initiated programs to reflect on the contributions of the profession to the
development of quality of life in the 20th century. The Millennium Challenge
and Monuments of the Millennium were introduced in 1999 and 2000, respectively.
Through these programs, ASCE seeks to honor the civil engineering profession's
contribution to the quality of life and well-being of people and communities
worldwide, and acknowledges the creative spirit and ingenuity of the civil engineering
profession.
For the Millennium Challenge, ASCE canvassed its members in late 1999 to determine
the 10 civil engineering achievements that had the greatest positive impact
on life in the 20th century. Rather than individual projects, they chose to
recognize broad categories of achievements. ASCE's members ranked the 10
greatest civil engineering achievements as: airport design and development,
dams, the interstate highway system, long-span bridges, rail transportation,
sanitary landfills/solid waste disposal, skyscrapers, wastewater treatment,
water supply and distribution, and water transportation.
Following the Millennium Challenge, in spring 2000 a prestigious panel of civil
engineers selected one international or national project to represent each of
these 10 achievements. These Monuments of the Millennium demonstrate a combination
of technical engineering achievement, courage and inspiration, and a dramatic
influence on the development of the communities in which they're located.
While each monument exemplifies the use of engineering ingenuity to overcome
major design and construction challenges, this is not the sole criterion. All
were selected because, like the great civil engineering works of previous centuries,
they uplifted the human spirit and created pride in the communities served;
used state-of-the-art design and construction techniques to preserve the natural
environment; and made a significant contribution to regional and world economies.
Most importantly, all of these monuments have created a positive change in the
way people live and how they conduct business. They represent some of the most
significant public works achievements of the past century and serve as a symbol
of engineering's finest moments in history.
1. Airport Design and Development
Before 1945, any level field was looked upon as a viable landing strip for
airplanes, and it was generally believed that presence of a gas pump made an
airport ready for commercial traffic. After World War II, the advent of integrated,
engineered systems of paved landing surfaces, flood lit runways, and terminal
complexes made passenger convenience, airline efficiency, economy in construction
and operational safety the cornerstones for the rehabilitation and development
of airports. This new concept of design and development of airports with end-user
in mind transformed the use of aircraft technology from a novel form of postal
and military transportation into an economic powerhouse. Today, airports employ
millions worldwide, allow for efficient transport of fresh food, mail, packages
and other goods, and provide business and vacation travel. Through the use of
local businesses for airplane maintenance, food catering to airlines, and ground
transportation to and from airports, surrounding communities thrive. Retail
shops, hotels and restaurants in and around ensure that aviation dollars are
channeled throughout communities.
Kansai International Airport
Since it opened in September 1994, the annual number of passengers using
the hub has increased from 2.5 million to more than 25 million. Located in Osaka
Bay, approximately three miles off shore, International Airport offers an extensive
variety of user-friendly, modern amenities. Because of location off shore, it
is the only airport in the world that is able to function on a 24-hour basis
without violating any noise regulations. The airport serves 24 cities in Japan
with 69 departures daily and 71 cities in 30 other countries with 660 departures.
2. Dams
People around the world need and use far more water than societies of the
past; people use water for drinking, washing, waste removal, heating and cooling,
and irrigation. During the 20th century, harnessing water by building dams was
recognized as a way to meet an unprecedented demand for low-cost, widely available
energy sources to aid in the production of goods and services for the consuming
public. Dams continue to play an integral role in our daily lives, providing
a range of benefits including flood control, hydroelectric power, and water
for irrigation, recreation, and fish and wildlife enhancements. Dams spur industrial
growth and provide navigation routes in developing nations. As the world's
population increases and the need for food multiples, it is likely, even in
the face of increased environmental sensitivity, dams will continue to be built
during the 21st century.
Hoover Dam
The building of the Hoover Dam provided something positive for the United States
to focus on during the years of the Great Depression. Completed in 1935, the
726-foot-high structure was the highest dam in the world, by 300 feet, at the
time of construction. It is still the highest concrete dam in the Western Hemisphere.
Today, it continues to regulate the flow of the Colorado River and provides
a range of benefits, including electricity for more than 1.3 million people
and irrigation for 1.5 million acres of land in the United States and Mexico.
3. Interstate Highway System
The Interstate Highway System, first established as a national priority by
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, revolutionized travel, economies and the daily
standard of living in North America by providing an efficient means of direct,
high-speed transportation for individuals and businesses in the United States,
Canada, and Mexico.
The 42,800-mile system, built on a North-South/East-West grid, has hundreds
of bridges, overpasses, interchanges and thousands of miles of pavement. Following
the prototype of a limited-access highway provided by the Pennsylvania Turnpike,
completed in 1940, the interstate highway is fully access controlled, with all
intersections at different grades and access provided through interchange ramps.
There are more than 55,000 grade separations and other bridges, and curves are
engineered for safe turns. All interstate highways have at least four lanes,
and conveniently spaced rest areas are available throughout the system. The
system's design has ensured the safe and efficient flow of intrastate and
interstate traffic. The system carries 20 percent of traffic, although it only
covers 1 percent of the U.S. and is credited with saving more than 187,000 lives
and preventing 12 millions injuries. It is estimated that the Interstate Highway
System saved $6 for every $1 spent on its construction.
4. Long-Span Bridges
Bridges of increasing size and span have created phenomenal changes in the
social patterns and economic conditions of communities by effectively eliminating
water barriers between communities. They open new routes of communication between
disintegrated and isolated communities, provide safe and efficient access to
work, schools, and recreation for people, and spur economic growth by facilitating
trade within and between regions. From the late 19th century through the early
20th centuries, the use of steel enabled the production of increasingly longer,
continuous main spans to traverse large, deep bodies of water. As the symbolic
soul of cities, bridges shape a city's character and, in turn, are shaped
by the lives of the people served by them.
Golden Gate Bridge
One of the most recognized landmarks in the world, the Golden Gate Bridge connected
geographically isolated areas to the north, in Marin and Sonoma counties, with
San Francisco. When the bridge opened in 1937, with a main suspension span length
of 4,200 feet, it was the longest in the world. The engineering obstacles posed
by the mile-wide, turbulent Golden Gate Strait led engineers to devise a bridge
that required four years to build, 83,000 tons of steel, 389,000 cubic yards
of concrete, and enough cable to encircle the earth three times.
5. Rail Transportation
Rail transportation was the first efficient cross-country mode of transportation
for both passenger and cargo. Rail remains a major method of transporting goods
throughout the nation, and in many developed nations is the primary mode of
passenger travel. Rail transportation generated hundreds of spin-off industries,
ranging from rail cars and signal equipment to toy trains, and contributed to
the growth and dominance of the U.S. iron and steel industries in the early
part of the century.
Eurotunnel Rail System:
The Eurotunnel Rail System fulfilled a centuries-old dream to link Britain and
the rest of Europe. More than a tunnel, it rolls infrastructure and immense
machinery into an underwater tunnel system of unprecedented ambition. Three
five-feet-thick concrete tubes plunge into the earth at Coquelles, France, and
burrow through the chalky basement of the English Channel, re-emerging at Folkstone,
behind the white cliffs at Dover. The broadest trains ever built - 14-feet wide
double deckers - travel through the tunnels at 100 mph.
6. Sanitary Landfills/Solid Waste Disposal
As American society changed from an agrarian culture to an industrialized nation,
people moved to cities for work, in hopes of improving their quality of life.
The subsequent increase in urban population density had a great impact on garbage
disposal practices. The rural custome of placing waste in fields or beside roadways
led to the piling up of garbage in the streets, waterways and vacant lots, and
in open pits. This type of garbage disposal brought with it odor, rodents, pestilence,
and most importantlyh, serious public health problem. By 1946, the responsibility
for garbage disposal shifted from scavengers to acientifically minded civil
engineers whose experimentation with various ways to properly dispose of waste,
including feeding it to hogs, open pit burning, and incineration, led to the
widespread use of sanitary landfills.
7. Skyscrapers
Nineteenth century buildings generally did not exceed 16 stories in height
because the strength and thickness of their mandatory bearing walls limited
them. Built upward, instead of outward, skyscrapers of the 20th century have
solved many of the problems of rapid urbanization, including increasing population
and land cost. Skyscrapers release land at ground level, opening up for plazas,
fountains and arcades, creating a lively street and outdoor life, and promoting
better human interaction. Tall buildings were made possible by such innovations
as the electric elevator, advances in structural steel making, and advances
in heating, ventilation, air conditioning and electrical systems.
The Empire State Building
At 1,250 feet, the Empire State Building is the best-know skyscraper in the
world, and was the tallest building in the world for more than 40 years. The
building's most astonishing feat, however, was the speed at which it rose
into the New York skyline. Construction was completed in only one year and 45
days, requiring no overtime. Ironworkers set a torrid pace, riveting the 58,000-ton
frame together in 23 weeks. Just below them, masons finished the exterior in
eight months, plumbers laid 51 miles of pipe and electricians installed 17 million
feet of telephone wire.
8.Wastewater Treatment
Throughout the 19th century people lived in filth, disposing of garbage and
raw sewage by dumping it into the streets, alleys and waterways. As a result,
they often suffered from such deadly diseases as cholera and typhus. Until the
early 1900s, America's urban wastewater, including industrial waste, was
dumped into the nation's waterways. Few municipalities treated wastewater,
as it was widely believed that running water purified itself. Ironically, with
the implementation of water treatment supply systems, the need for uncontaminated
water supplies decreased, and the nation's waterways became more polluted.
As recently as 1968, city of St. Louis discharged 300 million gallons per day
of raw waste into the Mississippi River. By 1972, only one-third of U.S. waterways
were safe for drinking and fishing. With the advent of wastewater treatment,
cities became much more equipped to deal with population influx. Such innovations
as activated sludge treatment allow for the maintenance of high levels of water
quality. Wastewater treatment led to an increase in life expectancy, reduction
in infant mortality and morbidity, control and prevention of communicable diseases,
and improvements to the aquatic environment, enabling the public to enjoy water
sports and maintain a healthy ecosystem for marine life.
Chicago Wastewater System
The reversal of the Chicago River, completed in 1900, enabled Chicago to continue
its growth and progress after the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Before the reversal,
the safety of the Lake Michigan drinking water supply was constantly threatened
by untreated sewage flowing directly into the river, which then flowed back
into the lake. The Chicago Sanitary District, as it was known then, undertook
a monumental task when it built a 28-mile-long channel that would connect the
Chicago River with the Des Plaines River to reverse the flow of the river away
from Lake Michigan. More than 28 million cubic yards of glacial drift and 12.9
million cubic yards of solid rock were removed, using conveyers, steam shovels,
horse-drawn wagons, dynamite and the labor of thousands of immigrants. Today,
the wastewater system consists of seven water reclamation plants, including
the Stickney Water Reclamation Plant, which is one of the worlds's largest.
The system also has 554 miles of intercepting sewers, more than 100 miles of
combined sewer overflow control deep tunnels, 23 pumping stations, and 31 flood
control reservoirs. It also boasts 82 miles of navigable urban waterways that
serve as the mid-continental water connections between the Atlantic Ocean in
Canada and the Gulf of Mexico. The wastewater system services 91 percent of
the area of Cook County, Illinois, which includes 5.1 million people and 4.5
million commercial entities in the City of Chicago and 124 suburban communities.
9. Water Supply and Distribution
The collection, storage, treatment, transmission and distribution of water
played a significant role in urbanization, population growth and commercial
agriculture and land use. Today, storage and distribution systems enable semi-arid
and arid regions to store water for later use during periods of high precipitation.
Clean, potable water piped from afar led to the development of such large cities
as Las Vegas, and the suburban areas around Chicago and Los Angeles. The development
and distribution of large water delivery systems, in conjunction with the development
of collection, removal and treatment systems, enabled people to move from large
cities to suburban communities and helped well-dependant, rural communities
to prosper. During the 20th century, water supply and distribution systems have
led to an increase in life expectancy, reduction in infant mortality and morbidity,
and improvements in environmental quality in developed countries. It is estimated
that in the year 2000, 2.2 billion people in developing countries died due to
lack of safe drinking water. The transfer of civil engineering knowledge to
ensure safe water supplies through the collection, treatment and distribution
of surface, ground and wastewater is imperative for the continued economic growth
and development of nations in the 21st century.
The California Water Project
The California State Water project was selected as much for its remarkable engineering
aspects, as for the positive impact it has had on regional economic trade and
development. Conceived more than fifty years ago with bold imagination by engineers
of dedication and courage, a system of aqueducts, dams, reservoirs and plants
meets the water resources needs of two-thirds of California's population
serving more than 23 million citizens and thousands of businesses daily. Features
of the project include 32 storage facilities, reservoirs and lakes, 17 pumping
plants, three pumping-generating plants, five hydroelectric power plants, and
660 miles of open canals and pipelines.
10. Water Transportation (Canals and Ports)
The impact of canals and ports on economic and commercial development around
the world is unsurpassed. Passageways between bodies of water connect continents
and create efficient interstate portals for cargo ships. Canals and ports harness
the capacity of water to carry extra large, bulky cargo, spurring economic growth,
agricultural development, commerce and trade in all nations. As cargo ships
increase in size, engineers are developing new ways to expand ports, including
dredging.
The Panama Canal
The dream of Spanish conquistadors, the Panama Canal is one of civil engineer's
greatest triumphs. Forty-two thousand workers dredged, blasted and excavated
the canal. They moved enough earth and rubble between Colon and Balboa to bury
Manhattan to a depth of 12 feet. The canal finished on time and within budget,
but after completion a challenge remained: how to tame the flood waters of Chagres
River, known to rise 25 feet in a day during monsoon season. Solution: engineers
erected a dam that formed the world's then-largest human-made lake. Today, the
Panama Canal operates much as it did in 1914. In each transit, 52 million gallons
of fresh water is lost, but it is quckly replaced by Panama's heavy rainfall.
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