Map of the National Highway 44 in red. (© OpenStreetMap contributors / CC BY-SA)

The National Highway Authority of India (NHAI), established in 1988, was a quiet government department till 1995.  Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the- then Prime Minister of India, charged it with his dream project. He wanted India’s primary highway roads enhanced and upgraded. National Highway 44, the longest-running National Highway (NH), part of the 4000 KM North-South Corridor was part of his vision transformed to reality by 2012. And NHAI woke up to a vibrancy that continues even today. The way through was riddled with ups and downs.

Highly criticised road project

Noted journalist Tavleen Singh had harsh opinions about the National Highways Development Project (NHDP). In her article titled ‘Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s dream highway project is a nightmare for taxpayers’, she said Indians were being taken for a ride. That instead of going for expressways, which were need of the hour, the government was going for highways, that too by repairing and conjoining existing old roads. If we squander our limited resources in such patch up work, she argued, how shall we build expressways? It is pertinent to state that expressways cater only to high speed (average 100Kmph) automated vehicles and don’t pass through towns and villages. Highways in India, on the other hand, can barely sustain an average speed of 60Kmph as these brush through towns and villages and must accommodate traffic therefrom.

Highways- vital for the health of the economy

But India being a developing nation, its development plans couldn’t be a photocopy of other nations. Vajpayee knew it only too well and went ahead despite nay-sayers. In the fifty years before him, the road network in the country grew at an abysmally slow speed. Whereas the traffic increased 25 times, roadways grew only 8 times. For the past 2 decades, there was a pressing need to streamline roadways to up the status of the Indian economy.

Modernisation of Indian roads was long overdue. A lion’s share of India’s GDP, 5.5 percent, comes from the transport sector. Eighty percent of goods and the same percentage of people move by roads. Mustering funds and acquiring land for highways was a difficult task. Yet, in a couple of years, 5,400 km of new highways were built, sending clear signals that Vajpayee meant business. His 3 major projects, North-South corridor (NH44), East-West Corridor and the much-publicized Golden Quadrilateral (a highway ring connecting Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata) proved to be a thumping success.

National Highway 44 is the longest merged highway of India

National Highway 44, covering North-South corridor of NHDP, is a 3745 Km stretch. It extends from Srinagar to Kanyakumari and is a fusion of several old highways. Old roads which have gone into its making are NH-1A. (Srinagar), NH-1 (Punjab-Delhi), partly NH-2 (Delhi-Agra), NH-3 (Agra-Gwalior), NH-75 and NH-26 (Jhansi), and NH-7 (via Nagpur, Hyderabad, Bangalore, Madurai, and Tirunelveli). The NH-44 passes through 11 Indian states. An 82 Km length of NH-44 lying between Bengaluru and Krishnagiri is considered a part of the Golden Quadrilateral.

Highways numbered to facilitate navigation

The government of India undertook a major task in 2010 to rationalize numbers allocated to highways. The idea was to make numbers indicative of the geographic location of a particular highway. Going by that assumption, even numbers were assigned to all North-South highways and odd numbers to all East-West highways. For North-South highways, numbers increase as we move from East to West. Thus NH-4 is more towards East of India and NH-44 more to the West. Likewise, for the East-West highways, the numbers increase from North to South; NH-1 is more towards North and NH83, towards South.

Another rule is that all major highways would either be a single-digit or double-digit. Three-digit numbers are reserved for secondary roads or the arterial branches of the main highway. For example, roads branching off from NH-44 would be named as 144, 244, 344 etc. Regarding their approximate geographical location, 144 would be located more towards the north, and 944 more towards the south (1 and 9 both being odd, are assigned to North-South highways as mentioned earlier). Another norm is to suffix A, B, C, D, etc. This is \to indicate further branching of secondary routes. Like, 527A and 966B.

The highway witnessed some national tragedies

A symbol of resurgent India, NH-44 has made news for the wrong reasons too. Rape and murder of Disha, a Veterinary Doctor, in Telangana recently. Her 4 rapists were killed in a police encounter on the same spot close to NH-44, where the lady was raped. The year 2015- 16 saw terror attacks on the security personnel on the J&K highway, claiming 15 lives. Then, in 2003, the murder of Satyendra Dubey made headlines. The young IES officer blew the whistle on some corrupt practices going on in NHAI. He was shot dead, presumably by the road construction mafia. His death forced the Government of India to enact ‘whistleblower protection bill’ to safeguard professionals who expose corruption in their work area.

Vajpayee’s vision is still making waves

The present-day Modi government has taken Vajpayee’s dream to the next higher level, to expressways. Delhi-Meerut, Delhi-Mumbai, Mumbai-Nagpur and Bangalore-Chennai and many other expressways are in the pipeline. Road construction work is being completed at a faster rate. In 2014, roads built per day were a meagre 7 Kilometres.  For the year 2017-18, the figure rose to 28 kilometres. The target set to be achieved is 45. A total of 416 projects, worth 3.26 lakh crores are expected to be completed by 2020.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Pan-American Highway: The Longest Road in the World Measuring About 30,000 Kilometres“.

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Pan-American Highway. (A. Duarte / Flickr)

Constructed in the year 1936, the Pan-American Highway is a web of roads stretching across the continents of North and South America. The nomenclature for this particular mode of transport is a representation of the fact that the highway connects almost all of the Pacific coastal countries. According to the Guinness World Records, this highway is the world’s longest motorable road of about forty-eight thousand kilometres, in total length with a break of about one hundred and sixty kilometres which is called the Darién Gap.

Pan-American Highway map. (© Seaweege / Wikimedia Commons)

Pan-American Highway: Bildungsroman

Imagine being on a road trip that is equivalent to living through a time-lapse depicting changing weather conditions. A journey on the Pan-American Highway will allow you to experience exactly this. The highway passes through a diversification of climates and ecological types, including dense forests, arid deserts, barren Tundra regions, mountains, prairies et al. However, some of these places have a chance of being extremely dangerous.

Beginning at Prudhoe Bay in Alaska, North America the highway winds down till Ushuaia, in Argentina. Originally, the concept of connecting the two tips of the Americas witnessed its first proposal in 1889 at the First Pan-American Conference, as a rail road. The idea never saw the light of day, but what did was the highway at the Fifth International Conference of American States in 1923. This eventually resulted in an agreement for the speedy construction of the highway, five years later.

The Darién Gap: A leap of faith

The only flaw in the entire project, which is unavoidable, is the fact that the highway does not have a direct link from Central America to South America. This disruption in the construction is also quite commonly referred to as the Darién Gap. The Darién Gap is a stretch of marshland which terminates the highway at Turbo, Columbia and Yaviza, Panama. The gap is about a hundred and twenty-five miles of dense forests, unruly rivers, low and rugged mountains. Construction through the swamp, marshes and rivers would have been a very expensive project. Although, elimination of this gap is tireless and has had endless effort invested over several years.

Map of Darien Gap. (Milenioscuro / Wikimedia Commons)

Proposal of bridging this gap is a controversial one with constant conflict with environmentalists. The proposal has been acted about a couple of times. Fortunately, though, the environmentalists could hinder progress with evidence of irrevocable environmental damage. The Darién Gap is, quite naturally, an abode for adventurers. Several attempts have been made of driving through this gap, chancing upon more failures that success. The only option, however, that satisfies both conflicting sides is the construction of a ferry link from Columbia to a new ferry port in Panama.

Highway to death

As convenient as such a highway may sound, all is not so well regarding the journey across it, and the entire route contains several challenging sections that require more precaution than one might believe. One of these is popularly known as “Cerro de la Muerte” which literally translates to “Mountain of Death” or “Summit of Death.” The history behind its name is the fact that crossing the mountains from Valle Central is a three or four day trek on foot or on animals. In the past, the mountains witnessed several travellers succumbing to the cold and rain.

The main reason behind the danger of crossing this region via the highway is its sudden elevation. The highway reaches a peak from which two routes break off. One is a hiking trail and the other is a passage for vehicles to pass through. This region is generally considered to be the point of the highest elevation on the Pan-American Highway in Central America with an altitude of ten thousand nine hundred and forty-two feet. At this height, temperatures dip to below freezing point at night, but it is balanced by the shining sun during the day. Susceptibility to sun burns, however, is relatively easy due to the thin air.

Pan-American Highway: Toeing the line

The Pan-American Highway has many such fascinating tales associated with it. Thousands of people are always attempting to drive through this highway only to return with truckloads of memories to cherish. Tim Cahill, a famous travel writer set a record from Ushuaia to Prudhoe Bay in 24 days. He went on to write a book called Road Fever, about his experience.

The Pan-American Highway is a journey of scenic wonder. It is often featured on bucket lists for several people around the world. It is essential that enough research and exhaustive preparation is carried out from beforehand. It is of utmost importance that a map of the entire journey be carried and should be thoroughly read. It is a very long trip and duration varies from traveller to traveller, usually ranging between nine to twenty-four months unless you are Tim Cahill. It is truly a once in a lifetime experience, a chance to drop into countries like it’s the next neighbourhood, overstaying your welcome over a cup of tea or a glass of beer only to hit the next explorable paradise.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “China’s ‘One Belt, One Road’ – The Economic Project That Might Reshape the World“.

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Photo of Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. (Luca Galuzzi – www.galuzzi.it)

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System (TAPS) is one of the engineering marvels of the 20th century. It zigzags across 789 miles (1269.77 km) from the rich oil fields in Prudhoe Bay in Alaska to the ice-free port of Valdez. The pipeline makes for a spectacular sight across the ruggedly beautiful Alaskan landscape. It transports nearly 1.8 million barrels of oil every day.

State of Alaska map showing Trans-Alaska pipeline route in red. (Wikimedia Commons)

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

Built by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company—a private consortium made up of four major oil companies—the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is one of the largest oil pipeline systems in the world. It was built to facilitate the transport of oil from the oil fields in Prudhoe Bay. Oil was first discovered in this area in 1968, and it was the richest oil strike on the American continent.

Discovery of oil at Prudhoe Bay, March 13, 1968. (U.S. Department of Energy)

Building the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

Before the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System could begin, it was necessary to build a haul road to transport supplies and other essentials to the construction camps. The workers began building the road in April 1974. The final road was 360-mile long and extra gravel was used in its construction to protect and insulate the permafrost.

Ariel photo of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline Road Construction, 1969. (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service)

The construction of the Trans-Alaskan Pipeline began on 27 March 1975 with the laying of the first sections of the pipeline. Around 28,000 workers worked in 12-hour shifts for seven days a week to finish it in two years. They completed the work in July 1977. The cost of the project totalled $8 billion.

When building the pipeline, the workers fitted together 70,000 pipe sections. Many of these were buried underground, with an enclosing insulation padding of gravel, and completely covered with dirt. At road crossings, the buried pipeline had refrigeration to prevent the heat of the oil within from thawing the surroundings.

In the region of the permafrost or permanently frozen ground, it was necessary to build the pipeline above the ground. The oil gave out the heat between 65 degrees C and 85 degrees C, and this would have thawed and melted the permafrost. Along with causing an ecological disaster, the permafrost thawing would have led to the pipeline’s buckling and then breaking from the pressure.

Trans-Alaska Pipeline System emerging from the ground on the road between Fairbanks and Anchorage. (Frank Kovalchek / Flickr)

The workers had to set up supports to raise the pipeline above the ground to prevent it from heating the permafrost. In total, the pipeline has 78,000 supports that are 60 feet apart. The height of the supports allows herds of caribou, moose, and other animals to safely pass underneath the pipeline. In this manner, the pipeline does not cause too much environmental interference in the region. There are around 550 wildlife crossings.

A reindeer walking alongside the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. (Stan Shebs / Wikimedia Commons)

The pipeline traverses across three mountain ranges and 800 rivers, lakes, and streams. It also goes over the tundra and the Arctic forests. The Alyeska Pipeline Service Company built it in a zigzag pattern. That was done to ensure it remained flexible and could withstand the impact of an earthquake.

On 20 June 1977, the first oil was sent through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez. From the port here, the first tanker departed with the oil on 1 August 1977.

The Exxon Oil Spill

Exxon Valdez oil spill. (NOAA)

Around 11 years after the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System began its operations, there was a major ecological disaster in the region.

The port of Valdez is on a fjord on the east side of Prince William Sound. On 24 March 1989, an Exxon oil tanker ruptured its hull after a collision near the port. Due to this accident, 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of crude oil spilled over into the waters of Prince William Sound. Known as the Exxon-Valdez oil spill, it was the second-largest oil-spill that a U.S. company caused on the American continent. The first-largest oil-spill was the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

The spilled oil spread across the coastline, covering over 1300 miles of it, and affected around 11000 square miles of the ocean. Unfortunately, the clean-up efforts came too late, and the damage to the animal and birdlife in the area was incalculable.

Since this incident, oil tankers have double hulls to prevent any rupturing in the event of a collision.

Interesting facts about the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System

The US Senate voted to build the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System on 17 July 1973. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline Authorization Act passed with the approval of then-Vice President Spiro Agnew.

The oil carrying pipe sections are 48 inches in length.

Every minute, 35,000 gallons (132489.41 liters) of oil flows through one pipe section.

The pipeline transports nearly 1.8 million barrels of oil every day from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez.

Over 17 billion barrels of oil have flowed through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System since it began operations in 1977.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is owned by BP Pipelines (Alaska), Inc., ConocoPhillips Transportation Alaska, Inc., ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, and Unocal Pipeline Company. BP Pipelines owns 48.441%, ConocoPhillips Transportation Alaska, Inc. owns 29.2086%, ExxonMobil Pipeline Company owns 20.9943%, and Unocal Pipeline Company owns 1.3561%.

The Alyeska Pipeline Service Company operates the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System for the owners.

Around 800 people work for the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company, and the company also employs several hundred contractors. A large percentage of the workforce are Alaskan residents.

The average output in 2016 was 508,446 oil barrels per day. In 2017, it was 527,323 oil barrels per day. In 2018, it was 509,315 oil barrels per day.

In 1988, there were 11 oil pump stations to pump the oil through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. Now, since the output has decreased, there are four oil pump stations.

A barrel of oil can take up to two weeks to travel from Prudhoe Bay to Valdez.

The oil pumped through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is stored in 14 above-ground crude oil storage tanks at the Valdez Marine Terminal. Every week, three to five tankers load up with oil and depart from Valdez. Since 1977, over 22,000 oil tankers have departed from the port.

Alyeska’s Operations Control Center in Anchorage monitors the pipeline daily. There are three separate leak detection systems with 71 gate valves. In case of an emergency, the Operations Control Center can order a shutdown, and operators can manipulate the valves to stop the flow of oil through the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System in four minutes.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is the most photographed oil pipeline in the world.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline against a beautiful landscape. (Bureau of Land Management / Flickr)

Of all the domestic oil production in the USA, the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System accounts for around 15%.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “The Sewers of Paris: The Massive Underground Sewers That Keep Paris Clean“.

Fact Analysis:
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Recommended Read:
The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money & Power Paperback | By Daniel Yergin

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Puente Nuevo A in Ronda, Spain. (Steven Gerner / Flickr)

Approximately three centuries ago, King Felipe V, the king of Spain had a rather unconventional idea- deciding to build a bridge over the 120 m deep canyon in Ronda, Spain. The Puente Nuevo which translates roughly into “New Bridge” is one of the largest and most recent bridges that span over the 390 ft deep El Tajo canyon. This chasm has the Guadalevin River flowing through it and it divides the city of Ronda, which is in Southern Spain. This mighty bridge was constructed over a span of 34 years.

Why was the Puente Nuevo built?

In the 1700s, the city of Ronda in southern Spain had become extremely overpopulated. It stood on two sides of the deep El Tajo canyon, and there was nothing that allowed them to access the other side. This affected the even distribution of population, and the amenities provided by the city. It was almost although the two sides were two separate cities.

There were two smaller existing bridges, the Puente Romano and the Puente Arabe. They were, however, lower down, and did not directly link the two sides of ‘El Mercadillo’ (the old town) and ‘La Ciudad’ (the new town). The chasm ran between these two divisions. In the 1730s, plans were drawn up to build a new bridge across the El Tajo, which would directly link the two sides of the city and allow ease of movement.

Construction of the Puente Nuevo: a 40-year ordeal

The very first attempt at building a bridge at such a height was not an easy task. Even though the chasm was narrow, it was 390 ft deep.

Two architects, Jose Garcia and Jose Camacho, were chosen to work on this project and they began to work on a single arch design for the bridge in 1735. Despite the fact that they completed the bridge on time, it was not in good shape. The bridge collapsed in 1741 and killed nearly 50 people, mostly citizens of Ronda.

The work on the new bridge began again in 1759 at the same location. The designer of the Puente Nuevo was Domingo Lois de Monteagudo. The chief builder of this bridge was Juan Antonio Diaz Machuca, he invented a system of pulleys and also other heavy equipment for lifting large stones from the floor of the gorge. These stones were quarried and shaped and then brought up as per the requirements of the bridge. De Monteagudo was aware of the previous collapse and came up with a new design that would be sturdier and stronger than the first bridge.

He supervised the construction of the bridge right up to 1778, and by this time the bottom third of the bridge had been completed. However, by 1785, work on the bridge had come to a halt. Pascal Ruiz, who was the administrator of Ronda, called upon the expertise of Jose Martin de Aldehuela, one of Andalucía’s top architects, to complete the bridge. He had an extraordinary design that he used to build on the foundation laid by Lois De Monteagudo, ultimately turning the bridge into a work of art.

The bridge was constructed in three distinctive stages. During the first stage, the foundation of the bridge was built against the bedrock. The first arch that was built served as a foundation for the main arch. This main arch takes the bridge to a height of 90 m. In the final stage of construction, the two top arches and the room in the centre of about 60 square metres was constructed. 

The arches of Puente Nuevo. (Keith Roper / Flickr)

Today, the room in the centre contains the interpretation museum of the bridge. It consists of an exhibition that describes the history of the bridge and its construction. The chamber can be entered through a square building that used to be the guardhouse at one time. It is believed that this chamber has served as a prison, and if rumours are to be believed, a torture chamber also.

A view of Puente Nuevo. (Max Pixel)

The Puente Nuevo was finally completed in 1793 and took a grand total of 34 years to build. Its span was approximately 216 feet and an impressive height of 322 feet. The bridge is supported by thick vertical suspensions that are attached to the canyon walls.

A major tourist attraction

The Puente Nuevo divides the city of Ronda, providing one of the best vantage points, and makes for an extremely sought after tourist spot. The bridge is popular not only for the ‘experience’ it entails but also as a great location for photoshoots. Overlooking the beautiful El Tajo gorge, the bridge provides a spectacular view of a sea of white quintessential Andalusian houses and endless fields. The bridge also acts as a marker for two very popular routes- one leading towards the bottom of the gorge, and the other taking you around the chasm so you can view it from multiple angles.

Enjoyed this article? Also, check out “Pontcysyllte Aqueduct: A High-Rise Canal-Connect Made of Cast Iron, an Engineering Marvel“.

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Sewers of Paris. (Shadowgate / Flickr)

Modern cities have very complex mechanisms in order to function properly and provide their inhabitants with reasonably decent and hygienic living arrangements. The massive underground sewers of Paris play an important role in maintaining civic hygiene. Without them, the city might descend into a cesspit of dirt and disease.

The sewers of Paris

The sewers of Paris are an underground system of drains and waterways that remove waste generated in the city and also bring in supplies of freshwater into the city. These underground sewers exactly replicate the streets overhead. All buildings in the city are connected to the sewers. The waste and wastewater are carried off to treatment plants; they are not directly released into the Seine river.

Paris’s underground sewer system is the biggest in the world. If you stretched out the pipelines, they would cover over 2,100 km. Daily, more than 1.2 million cubic meters of wastewater passes through these sewers.

Musée des Égouts de Paris. (Shadowgate / Flickr)

Why were the Sewers of Paris built?

The sewers of Paris were built to conduct away wastewater and to funnel clean water. The end goal was to make Paris a more liveable city for its citizens. Believe it or not, for quite a long while this wasn’t the case.

On the site where Paris is currently situated, there was once a Roman city name Lutece. If you’ve read the Asterix and Obelix comics, it is frequently mentioned in those stories as Lutetia. Anyhow, the Romans were first-class engineers and knew the importance of drains and sewers for getting rid of waste and wastewater. It was probably bearable to live in Lutece in their time.

Things changed, however, in the Middle Ages. They are also often called the Dark Ages and for good reason. People took to neglecting personal cleanliness and so there was no question of maintaining any civic hygiene. Everyone threw animal and human waste and wastewater into the unpaved streets or directed it into the fields. The situation was further exacerbated by the draining of all the waste ultimately into the Seine river. So, the streets stank, and the river stank, and the people tolerated living in these stinky environs as a fact of life.

They covered their noses and came up with new fashion ideas to combat pollution. Women took to carrying parasols to ward of garbage thrown from overhead windows. Men, meanwhile, adopted the chivalrous habit of walking closer to the street so that they would get landed with the sewage rather than their ladies.

As the population grew, the Parisian authorities tried to combat the waste problem with cesspits and cesspools. An effort was made to collect all the city waste to deposit them in these. However, many people either couldn’t or wouldn’t pay for this service. It was so much easier to empty the chamber pot out the window. Also, neither the cesspits nor the cesspools worked too well. The cesspits turned the soil fetid and the cesspools were difficult and messy to clean routinely.

This general lack of sanitation and cleanliness was common in most medieval European cities, not just Paris. It was one of the main reasons for the frequent epidemic outbreaks that killed thousands upon thousands of people.

Who built the Sewers of Paris?

Phillipe Auguste ruled France from 1180 to 1223. Sickened by the dirty, muddy streets of Paris, he ordered the civic authorities to pave them. While doing so, he also ordered for a drain in the centre of the streets to take away the wastewater. These were the first official drains in Paris. While they were useful to an extent, their open nature made a stink and the spread of disease unavoidable.

As the civic authorities came to realize this, they began to consider the idea of covered drains and then underground sewers to remove the waste and dirty water from the city precincts.

A Parisian provost named Hugues Aubriot built a stone-made sewer with a vault for wastewater in the Rue Montmartre in 1370. This was the first closed drain in Paris. Known as the Menilmontant sewer, it took wastewater from the Seine’s right bank to the Menilmontant brook.

After the first underground sewer was built in 1370, the French government has continually added, expanded, repaired, and modernized the sewers. You could say that they have remained a work in progress over hundreds of years.

Under King Louis XIV and, later, Napoleon Bonaparte, the Parisian authorities built an extensive system of underground sewers. These were bigger to accommodate the waste generated by the city’s growing population. However, the waste still went into the Seine and, as a result, continued to cause diseases like typhoid and cholera.

It became clear that the city needed a better system of sewers. Napoleon I ordered the construction of a 30 km long sewer network. It was vaulted and was the first Parisian sewer built in this manner.

In 1850, Napoleon III and Baron Haussmann, the Prefect for the Seine, began transforming Paris with new, broad boulevards. At this time, they hired Eugene Belgrand, an engineer, to design and oversee the building of new sewers. By 1878, Eugene Belgrand had built a 600 km long new sewer system with one network for drinking water, one network for water for street cleaning, one network for sanitary sewers, and one network for wastewater.

These large-sized, six-feet high drains were made of sandstone and had roads that sewer worker could easily walk on to facilitate sewer-cleaning. Sewer workers used boats to move the sludge in the sewers to barges that then took and deposited it elsewhere. Sometimes the sludge was also removed via manholes.

Belgrand also built a treatment plant to treat the waste. Furthermore, he built aqueducts that brought clean drinking water to the Parisian populace. From 1880 to 1914, more than half of the Parisian buildings were connected to the sewers.

There was a dramatic drop in typhoid and cholera cases in Paris as a result of Belgrand’s new sewer system. The French authorities continued to build this sewer system until 1930. At this point, nearly every Parisian street had a sewer under it. Now, the waste from the sewers was taken to the newly built Acheres treatment plant for industrial sewage treatment.

At one point, gas mains were also installed in the sewers. However, after gas leaks caused explosions inside the sewers, the authorities removed the gas mains.

Modernization of the Sewers of Paris

By 1977, there were 1000 km of new sewers. The Acheres treatment plant became one of the largest of its kind in Europe. The authorities also built other waste treatment plants like Noisy-le-Grand, Valenton, and Colombes.

Sewers under the Boulevard at the end of the 19th century. (Collection personnelle Scanné par Claude Shoshany)

In the 1990s, the then-Mayor of Paris, Jacques Chirac, undertook the modernization of the sewers. The project cost over 152 million euros. The French authorities repaired many of the existing sewers, built some new ones, and installed a computerised waste management system.

The sewers of Paris in literature

One of the most notable mentions of the Parisian sewers occurs in Victor Hugo’s famous novel from 1862 ‘Les Miserables’. Here, the sewers are part of the story and serve as a hideout as well as a getaway place for the main character. Victor Hugo’s portrayal of the sewers is pretty accurate as he got most of his factual information from Emmanuel Bruneseau, a sewer inspector who mapped the sewers.

The sewers also feature in ‘The Underground City,’ the 1958 novel by H. L. Humes, in ‘The Phantom of the Opera’, in ‘Foucault’s Pendulum’ by Umberto Ecco, and in ‘Ratatouille’.

Visiting the sewers of Paris

If you would like to see the sewers of Paris, you can take a guided or self-guided tour of them.

The sewers have been open for public visits since the World Expo held in Paris in 1867. There is now a Paris Sewers Museum from which you can take a stairway down to the sewers. Except for Thursday and Friday, it is open throughout the week from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Paris sewers museum. (Shadowgate / Flickr)

Formerly, tourists could see how the sewers worked by taking a tour via suspended carts, locomotive-drawn carriages, and underground boats. Now you can walk through them and look at historic photographs and old machinery that was once used to clean the sewers. The latter includes large metal balls that water pressure pushed through the sewers to removed clogged debris.

The tour takes about 30 minutes and is, largely, stink-free.

Note: Currently, the sewers museum is closed for renovation until 2020.

Fact Analysis:
STSTW Media strives to deliver accurate information through careful research. However, things can go wrong. If you find the above article inaccurate or biased, please let us know at [email protected].

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Pontcysyllte Aqueduct at Froncysyllte, Wrexham, Wales. (DeFacto / Wikimedia Commons)

The Industrial Revolution of the 18th century was spearheaded by Great Britain, and this is best reflected in Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. Pronounced as ‘Pont-ker-suk-tay’, it is a landmark waterway, situated in North Eastern Wales. It is made of a cast-iron trough supported on 18 stone towers, 127 feet (39 meters) tall and each tower separated by a distance of 53 feet.

The trough rests on cast-iron arches which connect the towers on the top end. The brainchild of prodigal engineers Thomas Telford and William Jessop, it is tallest and the longest water channel made of iron. Also called ‘stream in the sky‘, it stands in a league with historical monuments like Taj Mahal, the Pyramids and The Great Wall of China. Literally, Pontcysyllte means the bridge that connects the river. Coupled with 11 miles of Llangollen canal, it is a designated UNESCO world heritage site, and a listed grade I building.

Pontcysyllte Aqueduct. (Akke Monasso / Wikimedia Commons)

The construction of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct

The story of this aqueduct, Pont y Cysyllte (Bridge of Cysyllte), begins in 1770 when the idea of the Ellesmere canal was conceived. This canal would link the city of Chester with the River Mersey in the north-west of England. William Jessop (1745-1814) was the technical supervisor of the project starting in 1795. The project faced a major problem. The canal must pass through river Ceiriog (in North-East Wales) and river Dee (passing through Wales and England), both having prominent valleys.

Thomas Telford (1757-1834), an engineer and architect of eminence, was roped in to meet this challenge. Telford was renowned for a string of path-breaking cast-iron bridges. Jessop -Telford duo had constructed an aqueduct over the river Ceiriog at Chirk – a small town in Wales, in 1795. This aqueduct was done in the stone structure which deemed unfit for this particular challenge. Because, the valley of River Dee was too deep and wide to permit a conservative stone- aqueduct. As the cast-iron bridges had proved their worth by this time, Telford proposed cast-iron bridge. His proposal was approved, and work began in right earnest with the approach way of canal done up by 1805. Then Pontcysyllte happened, and the rest is history.

A show of astute planning and daring technique

Officially opened for ships/boats on 25th November 1805, the aqueduct was admired worldwide for its unique design and utility. The design was unique as it forged iron into mason work. And utility was evident in ships sailing across the waterway held 126 feet above the river Dee on arched metallic ribs fused with masonry pillars. The top ends of the pillars were kept hollow to minimize load on the lower portion. A bizarre ingredient, ox blood, was mixed in a lime mortar to enhanced stickiness which would keep the stone pillars in good shape.

The approved design for aqueduct was hammered into shape by the dedicated team of professionals at Ellesmere Canal Company. Plas Kynaston Foundry was set up at close by to ensure speedy availability of cast iron parts for the construction of the aqueduct. Supporting arches and the water trough were bolted together and fixed atop the mason pillars. The trough was made airtight with Welsh flannel mixed in a blend of lead, iron, and sugar.

Only one fatality in 10 years of the construction period testifies to the astute dedication and commitment of Thomas Telford to this project. No wonder the project was a thumping success and Telford was nominated the president of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1820. Memento marking the grand occasion had a picture of Telford in the background of Pontcysyllte Aqueduct.

A tourist destination par excellence

The stream in the sky is as good for navigation as for a walk or cycling on towpath built aside. For the walkers, there are no railings on the side of the water body, but the outer edge of the duct has a protective railing to check accidental fall. The trough is flush cleaned every 5 years by closing the flow and draining water through an outlet.

A boat crossing the aqueduct. (August Schwerdfeger / Wikimedia Commons)

A popular tourist destination, the aqueduct provides a breath-taking view of Britain’s gorgeous countryside. On the flip side, visitors are warned of the potential dangers of reckless revelry. A ‘Ponty Safety’ drive launched by `The Canal and River Trust Charity’ in Wales forbade visitors to use floating boards in stand-up position. As channel has no railings on one side, a stand-up reveller could tip over to a fatal fall. Even the side protected by railings may not help a brazen cyclist on a narrow towpath. Such accidents may happen as the microclimate around aqueduct is unpredictable. Gust of wind can ruffle a tourist any time with disastrous consequences.

Challenges

Ellesmere canal clubbed with Pontcysyllte aqueduct, had a profound impact on the economy of the region. When the local heavy industry wound up and cargo transport dwindled towards the fag end of the 19th century, the canal tourism thrived well. The economic crisis of 1930 and the World War II were a setback for the canal. An Act of Parliament in 1944 decommissioning Ellesmere canal was another blow. Nevertheless, the western branch of the canal was conserved as ‘Llangollen Canal’, for supplying water in the region. Yet, no ship sailed across the aqueduct till 1950 when a group of enthusiastic individuals rooted for tourism to preserve the industrial heritage of the canal. Tourism upped in 1960, and the canal was back in business. The British Waterways, since 1954, is serving as the navigational authority for the Ellesmere canal.

A prime relic of the Industrial Revolution

Strength and durability of the Pontcysyllte aqueduct merit description. Leaving aside re-laying of cast iron plates of the walkway in 1879, no change or repairs were made in it till the end of 19th century. Thus, it remained a prime relic of the industrial revolution. The collapse of fill embankment did happen in 1945, 1960,1982 and 1985, necessitating repairs in some areas of the duct. Further to this, the aqueduct was thoroughly repaired and renovated thoroughly in bicentenary celebrations of the year 2003-4.

A calculated risk which paid off

As a classic creation of Thomas Telford and William Jessop teamwork, a scheduled ancient monument and a world heritage site, Pontcysyllte Aqueduct stands today as majestic and functional as when launched more than 2 centuries back to ferry ‘Llangollen canal’ across the valley of river Dee. To this day, the joints of the aqueduct are sealed using the same old mixture of flannel with the iron-lead-sugar combo. Boating in the aqueduct and strolling on the towpath, one gets a feeling of being suspended in the air. What was generally viewed as a high risk off the beat idea at the time of its conception, has proved to be an earthy reality which has withstood the test of time, and will remain viable for long in the future.

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