What is Civil Engineering?

Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and
maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including works like roads, bridges, canals, dams,
airports, sewerage systems, pipelines and railways.

Civil engineering is the application of physical and scientific principles for solving the problems of society, and its
history is intricately linked to advances in understanding of physics and mathematics throughout history. Because
civil engineering is a wide-ranging profession, including several specialized sub-disciplines, its history is linked to
knowledge of structures, materials science, geography, geology, soils, hydrology, environment, mechanics and
other fields.

These few examples illustrate that civil engineers do a lot design buildings and bridges. They can be found in the
aerospace industry, designing jetliners and space stations, in the automotive industry and they can be found in
the ship industry, state eletricity company, and many other industries wherever constructed facilities are
involved. And they plan and oversee the construction of these facilities as construction managers.

Top 10 Most Impressive Civil Engineering Projects of All Time

10. Qingdao Haiwan Bridge

Qingdao Haiwan Bridge, also known as Jiaozuo Bay Bridge, is the world’s longest bridge over water at 41.58 km
(25.84 miles). It connects the city of Qingdao in Eastern China with the Huangdao suburbs, across the water of
Jiaozuo Bay. The bridge was designed by the Shandong Gaosu Group, and it took four years to build, with at least
10,000 workers employed for its construction. Also, its construction costs equate to 900 million in British pounds.

9. Burj Khalifa

As the tallest structure in the world, standing at 829.8 meters, Burj Khalifa in Dubai was designed as the
centrepiece for a new development called Downtown Dubai. The building was named in honour of the ruler of
Dubai and president of the United States Arab Emirates. It was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM),
and the design is inspired by the patterns and structures in Islamic architecture. The structure cost $1.5 billion to
build. At the time of its opening in 2010, it had the highest observational deck in the world.
8. English Channel Tunnel

The channel tunnel links Folkestone, Kent in the UK with Coquilles, Pas-de-Calais in northern France. Despite
Japan’s Seikan tunnel being longer overall, the channel tunnel has the longest undersea portion of any tunnel in
the world. It carries high-speed Eurostar passenger trains, as well as Eurotunnel shuttle for road vehicles, which is
the largest transport system in the world. When it opened in 1994, the final cost came in at an astounding £9
billion, making it the most expensive construction project ever at the time.

7. Golden Gate Bridge

The Golden Gate Bridge is often considered one of the most beautiful bridges in the world. This $27 million
project is a suspension bridge that spans the golden gate strait, connecting the city of San Francisco to Marin
County. It opened in 1937 and was until 1964, the longest suspension bridge in the world. The bridge is one of the
most recognised and influential symbols of the United States.

6. Hoover Dam

Constructed during the Great Depression, the Hoover Dam is a concrete arch-gravity dam in the Black Canyon of
the Colorado River. The construction of the Hoover Dam claimed hundreds of workers’ lives, and impounds Lake
Mead, the largest reservoir in the United States. The dam is named after President Herbert Hoover, and it took
five years to build and cost around $49 million.

5. Panama Canal

Panama Canal is a 48-mile waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean. The
canal consists of several artificial lakes and channels, and two locks at either end. The canal cuts across the
Isthmus of Panama and is crucial for international maritime trade. Work on the canal began in 1881, and it was
finally opened in 1914, costing the Americans $375 million.

4. Brooklyn Bridge

The Brooklyn Bridge is one of the oldest bridges in the United States, and it’s both a suspension and cable-stayed
bridge. Completed in 1883, it connects the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn by spanning the East River. The
bridge was initially designed by German engineer, John August Roebling, but due to his death, he was replaced by
his son, Washington Roebling who took charge of the project. It cost $15.5 million to build. Since it opened, it has
become a historic icon of New York City, and was designated a historic landmark in 1964.
3. Aqueduct of Segovia

More precisely known as the aqueduct bridge, this Roman aqueduct is one of the most significant and best-
preserved ancient monuments left on the Iberian Peninsula. It is located in Spain and is the symbol of Segovia,
and has been kept in excellent condition over the centuries. It provided water to Segovia until the 19th century.

2. Great Wall of China

With a history of more than 2,000 years, many sections of the Great Wall of China are in ruins, but it is still one of
the greatest wonders of the world, and an immensely popular tourist attraction. The Great Wall stretches from
Dandong in the east to Lop lake in the west. The entire wall with all its different branches, measures out to be 13,
171 miles. It isn’t possible to know exactly how much the wall would have cost to build, but modern calculation
say it would be somewhere between $13billion and $65 billion.

1. Great Pyramid of Giza

The Great Pyramid of Giza is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It is the oldest and largest of
the three pyramids in the Giza pyramid complex, bordering El Giza, Egypt. It is believed that the pyramid was built
as a tomb for the fourth Dynasty Egyptian pharaoh, Khufu and was constructed over a twenty-year period. It is
believed by many that Khufu’s vizier, Hemon, or Hemiunu, is the architect who designed the pyramid. It remained
the tallest man-made structure in the world for over 3,800 years. Also, experts estimate that it would cost around
$5 billion to build a replica today.