Samuel Beckett Bridge – Door to Dublin

It seems as if Dublin were a magnet for the world’s leading names in terms of architecture. Of course this is an honor for the city and a treat for her residents and visitors. Even if architecture and structural or civil engineering are not what makes your heart skip a beat, the latest design by world-renowned architect Santiago Calatrava will definitely bring a smile to your face, even if it’s lashing (raining hard and sideways) on you as you make use of his work.

What I am talking about is the Samuel Becket Bridge, which was introduced into the Dublin cityscape in May of 2009 and finally inaugurated and opened in December 2009 to pedestrians, motorists, and cyclists. The four-lane structure is intended to become Dublin’s Eiffel Tower. The plus? There are no lines to wait in or admission to pay; you may also use it any time you want!

In keeping with the iconic vision, the bridge is shaped like a harp (Ireland’s symbol), but laying on its side, the bridge is ingenious in its form and operation as it opens at a 90º angle as if it were an actual door to allow for large ships passage into and out of Dublin.

I am not sure if something like this exists anywhere else in the world, but I cannot hide my awe and amazement at such a structurally beautiful and innovative piece.

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Coteau-du-Lac National Historic Site of Canada

Why Build a Canal at Coteau-du-Lac?

Construction of the Coteau-du-Lac lock canal
Y. Larochelle, 1987, Parks Canada

 The American War of Independence (1775- 1783) revealed up a number of serious flaws in the British defence system. The western frontier of the colony was protected by the military outposts on the Great Lakes. However, these outposts were all the more vulnerable for being difficult to reach. Troop and merchandise transport via the River was seriously slowed by the rapids located upstream from Montréal. In particular, the rapids at Coteau-du-Lac were the most difficult to get past. Skirting the rapids by going inland prolonged supply times. To solve this problem, Governor Haldimand ordered for a canal to be dug at Coteau-du-Lac.                      

Captain William Twiss, a top ranking engineer who enjoyed notoriety both in Canada and in Great Britain, was the commander of the British army Royal Engineers. It was Captain Twiss who was the true instigator of the Coteau-du-Lac canal. Twiss proposed building a fortified canal as a means to accelerate shipment of military supplies westward.

                                                                    

Panama Canal Construction

With the lock-type plan in place for the Panama Canal, the United States needed an expert to execute it. Lt. Col. George Washington Goethals, an army engineer with lock expertise, became the new chief engineer. He divvied up the work into thirds: The Atlantic Division would work from Limón Bay to Gatún; the Central Division would run from Gatún to Pedro Miguel (and tackle the most challenging part of the project: the Gaillard (Culebra) Cut); and the Pacific Division would work from Pedro Miguel to the Panama Bay's deep waters.
The U.S. made good use of the Panamanian railroad that ran near the work, and the crews employed steam shovels, rock drills and dynamite to increase the efficiency of excavation. The work at the Gaillard (Culebra) Cut through the Continental Divide would have been impossible without such technology; men moved 96 million cubic yards (73 million cubic meters) of earth and rock and coped with huge dirt slides [source: Britannica]. Extreme heat and grisly accidents in the Cut gave it the name "Hell's Gorge."
On Jan. 7, 1914, the crane Alexander La Valley made the first canal transit. The canal didn't open officially, however, for another eight months. Celebrations to mark the event were scaled back as news reached Panama of Germany's declaration of war on France, the effective start of World War I

              
Goethals' three-part division can be used to understand the canal as it is today. Ships approaching from the Atlantic first pass through the Gatún Locks -- a series of three lock sets that lift vessels 85 feet (26 m) to Gatún Lake. Once there, ships wind through the lake's channel for about 23 miles (37 km) before entering the Gaillard (Culebra) Cut. After about 8 miles (13 km) spent crossing through the Cut, ships reach the Pedro Miguel Locks. These locks lower ships 30 feet (9 m) to the Miraflores Lake, where they pass through a mile-long (2 km) channel. Ships then approach the two-stepped Miraflores Locks that return them to sea level. A 7-mile (11-km) passage takes them out to the Pacific. From deep water to deep water, the canal is 50 miles (80 km) long.
Each of the locks is built in pairs to allow for two-way traffic. With a total transit time of eight to 10 hours, it just wouldn't make sense to run a one-way street [source: Panama Canal Authority]. To raise a ship, water is released from a lake (Gatún, Alajuela or Miraflores) or from a higher lock through valves that open on the upper end of the lock. To lower a ship, water drains to a lower lock or to the ocean through valves that open at the lower end of the lock. The locks are powered by electricity.
Because so much hinges on the locks' integrity, safety precautions prevent large ships from sailing through on their own steam. An out-of-control large ship could plunge through a lock. Large craft are instead escorted by electric towing locomotives.

Panama Canal

The Panama Canal is undoubtedly one of the most complex, costly, and difficult engineering projects ever undertaken. As early as the 1550s there was talk of creating such a canal to create a vital waterway for speedier trade between the Americas. However, it wasn’t until over three centuries later that a serious attempt was made to build it. An initial effort by the French in the 1880s was given up after over 20,000 workers lost their lives to disaster and disease. Under subsequent American leadership systems were devised to transport soil away by rail and properly house workers for safety and health purposes though thousands of Americans also lost their lives before the canal was completed in the early 1900s.

Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is one of the most known and beloved monumental structures of the world, yet it was never intended to be. Designed for a world’s fair in the late 1800s the tower was intended to be a demonstration of modern engineering, not an object of lasting beauty, and was supposed to be deconstructed following the event. Amazingly, just 300 were needed to assemble 18,000 parts on site with 2.5 million rivets – and only one person perished in the construction process. Parisians at the time were shocked, dismayed and outraged at this bare metal structure towering the sky – a structure that has since become the primary symbol of Par