Although human beings have been constructing them for thousands of years, tunnels remain a modern day engineering marvel. Whether they are cutting through mountains or cascading through lands underwater, tunnels connect our roads and highways and bring us from one place to another.
Centuries ago, tunnel construction involved workers hewing paths out of massive rock faces with chisels and hammers. Today’s technology, however, involves the use of advanced tunnel boring machines, allowing us to dig deeper and farther than we ever have before.
The result? These massive networks of tunnels drastically reduce travel time between locations, connecting us to the rest of the world and providing an impressive sight. Due to their mountainous terrain, Europe and Asia hold some of the world’s most impressive tunnels, including Japan’s Seikan Tunnel that sits 10,800 feet above sea level and the UK’s Channel Tunnel with a lengthy 23-mile underground. Groundbreaking projects like Elon Musk’s Hyperloop are a sign that tunnels of unprecedented lengths may soon be built all over the world.
To give a full picture of the advances made in engineering these masterpieces, BigRentz highlighted 10 of the world’s longest and most impressive tunnels in the infographic below.
