Top 10 Longest Man-Made Structures in the World

Pan-American Highway is a network of roads traversing 17 countries to form a 48,000 km route, stretching from Alaska to Argentina, requiring immense international effort to unify and complete. The Pan-American Highway holds the Guinness World Record for the longest “motorable” road in the world. This continuous road, except for a discontinuous stretch of approximately 100 km (60 miles) of tropical forest known as the Darien Gap, virtually links all mainland countries of the Americas in a connected highway system.

According to the Guinness World Records book, this is the longest motorable road in the world. However, due to the interruption of the Darien Gap, it is not possible to drive between South America and Central America with conventional motor vehicles. The Pan-American Highway traverses various climates and ecological types, from dense forests to arid deserts, some of which can only be traveled during the dry season, and driving is sometimes hazardous in many areas.

Trans-Siberian Railway connecting Moscow to Vladivostok is considered the longest railway system in the world. It was built to meet the transportation needs in Siberia, allowing for faster movement of both people and goods, facilitating the migration of millions of people into Siberia from the west. During World War II, this railway system played a crucial role in transporting materials and evacuating people from Europe.

The Trans-Siberian Railway is a legendary railway line that spans the entire country of Russia from west to east. It starts from Moscow and ends at Vladivostok in the Far East, not far from China, South Korea, and Japan. The Trans-Siberian Railway is the longest railway line in the world. The distance from Moscow to Vladivostok is 9288.2 km. Trains traveling this route may take from 6 to 7 days depending on the number of stops. Time zones change every 7 hours.

The Great Wall of China, built 2300 years ago and completed in 1644 AD during the Ming Dynasty, extends with numerous watchtowers and fortresses. Its main purpose was defense against invasions and also served as a means to control the border. Many parts of the Great Wall have been damaged over time and have been continuously restored and preserved since 1957.

Over thousands of years and dynasties, many sections of The Great Wall of China have been severely damaged due to the impact of war, human activity, and nature. The Great Wall that tourists explore today, especially those on budget Beijing tours, was mainly built during the Ming Dynasty, from 1368 to 1647, starting from Hushan (Liaoning) and ending at Jiayuguan (Gansu). According to archaeological studies, the Great Wall of China is approximately 8,850 km long, but as of 2012, its length has been recorded as 21,196 km.

The Grand Canal was built from around 600 AD with a length of 1,776 km, playing a significant role in driving economic development. Many ancient canal sections have been disused, but the southern part seems to remain intact to this day. It might come as a surprise to many that this romantic Grand Canal is actually the main thoroughfare in Venice, as it is considered the only modern city in Europe without conventional means of transportation such as cars or motorcycles...

Thanks to its location amidst bustling neighborhoods, this canal system has been chosen as the daily 'roadway' for people through unique means like boats, barges... It is precisely due to this special position that tourism in the form of sitting on boats and admiring famous landmarks along the canal is becoming increasingly popular in this area. Along the canal, you will pass through many attractive landmarks in the city such as the Ponte Degli Scalzi bridge, the Ponte Della Costituzione bridge, or the Rialto bridge... and witnessing couples expressing love right on the bridge will surely be an extremely interesting experience.

In 1885, to prevent wild Dingoes from entering the eastern part of Australia - where sheep farming thrived, the Dingo Fence was first constructed, spanning 5,614 km but not entirely effective. The fence was primarily made of steel mesh although some sections were made of electrified wire but mostly steel mesh, so when there were some holes, some wild Dingoes could easily pass through. Usually, fences are inexpensive and can be erected in a few days, but for Australians, the Dingo Fence is an entirely different project. This fence stretches over 5,600 km from the town of Jimbour, Queensland to the shores of the Great Australian Bight in southwest Australia.

From the 1860s, many ships from England arrived in Australia to establish the first settlements and brought rabbits as food, but the rabbits multiplied to the extent that no meat-eating animal could rival. Hundreds of millions of rabbits spread across this continent, destroying the entire crops of the people. The government of Western Australia decided to build a 1,833 km steel mesh fence to stop the rabbit explosion. However, this project was abandoned because the rabbit population could not be controlled, but it was effective for pigs, kangaroos, or sheep. Another emerging problem was the rampant packs of wild dogs (Dingo), which preyed on millions of sheep each year, so the Dingo Fence was established.

To prevent illegal migration, the Israel-Egypt barrier was completed with two layers of fences and barbed wire equipped with advanced electronic security systems and surveillance. It cost $450 million for 345 km in length. The first 230 km took 3 years to complete, the next 15 km took half a year due to difficult terrain. Even before it was completed, it was assessed as quite effective in preventing illegal migration.

The fence system along the border with Egypt is equipped with modern security equipment to prevent Islamic militants from transporting, trafficking drugs. In addition, the purpose of building this fence system is to prevent the influx of African migrants and refugees into Israel through this border. The construction of this security system was carried out over two years at a cost of approximately $420 million.

The Appian Way, stretching 563 km, is paved with tightly fitted stone blocks. What's remarkable is that it was hand-built in 312 BC but remains remarkably smooth. Today, a portion of the Appian Way is open to traffic. The road is named after Appius Claudius Caecus, a Roman censor, who began and completed the first section as a military road southward in 312 BC during the Samnite Wars.

Appian Way is a Roman road used as a major route for military supplies since it was constructed for that purpose in 312 BC. The Appian Way was the first long road built specifically to transport troops outside the smaller region of Rome into greater Rome (this was necessary for the Romans). Some roads outside the early city were Etruscan and mainly went to Etruria. By the end of the Republic, the Romans had expanded to most of Italy and were masters of road construction. Their roads began from Rome, where the main thoroughfare, or a list of destinations along the road, and extended to the border of their domain—hence the phrase 'All roads lead to Rome.'

New York, the most populous city in the United States, is dubbed the “City That Never Sleeps” with a vibrant scene of fashion, dining, commerce, and a strong focus on environmental activities, especially concerning water supply for its 9.5 million residents. Delaware leads in length among the world's aqueduct systems, delivering 3.8 billion liters of water to New York every day. Therefore, in 1990, when numerous leaks were discovered in this aqueduct, extensive remedial measures were immediately taken due to the substantial water loss, amounting to 36 million liters per day.

Reportedly, the Catskill aqueduct, built a century ago, stretches nearly 150 km from the Ashokan Reservoir in the Catskill Mountains to the northern city border. When completed in the early 1900s, some regarded the Catskill aqueduct as a feat of engineering comparable to the Panama or Suez Canals. Its terrain lies in the Catskill region, with minimal limestone, resulting in water with low calcium content for the city. Furthermore, its natural pH of 7.2 closely matches the pH of pure water. The 136 km Delaware aqueduct, completed in the mid-1940s, is so vast that a submarine routinely enters it to inspect leakage issues.

In 1869, the Suez Canal was completed, linking the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, allowing ships to shorten their travel distance when journeying from Europe to South Asia, directly impacting global trade. The Suez Canal took about 10 years to construct based on forced labor and exploitation. The canal provided a shortcut for ships traveling from European and American ports to ports in southern Asia, eastern Africa, and the Indian Ocean. Construction commenced on April 25, 1859, and was completed on November 17, 1869. When finished, the Suez Canal spanned 193.30 km, with its narrowest section at 60 meters wide and a depth of 24 meters, capable of accommodating ships of up to 250,000 tons. This 164 km waterway permanently altered the course of international maritime transportation, eliminating the need for ships to navigate around the southern tip of Africa, saving 6000 km.

The Suez Canal was completed on November 17, 1869, despite numerous political conflicts and technical mishaps surrounding the project. The total cost exceeded more than twice the initial estimates of the engineers. The canal immediately had a profound and far-reaching impact on the world transportation industry. Combined with the completion of the transcontinental railroad in the United States six months earlier, it allowed goods to circumnavigate the globe in record time. It also played a crucial role in expanding European colonialism in Africa. Enormous debts forced Egypt's successor vice-royal to sell his £4 million share to the British. However, the French still retained a majority shareholding.

Commissioned by Roman Emperor Hadrian and situated in the United Kingdom, Hadrian's Wall is a defensive fortification marking the northwest frontier of the Roman Empire for three centuries. The wall spans 73 miles and stretches from coast to coast, cutting across the northern part of present-day England, between Wallsend in the east and Bowness-on-Solway in the west. Construction may have begun around 122 AD, after Hadrian visited a Roman province then known as Britannia, with an estimated 15,000-strong workforce laboring for at least six years to complete the wall. Most of the wall was made of stone, although some sections were constructed from turf.

Small forts, called milecastles, were erected one Roman mile (equivalent to 0.91 modern miles) apart along the wall, with two watchtowers placed between each milecastle. Additionally, there were over a dozen larger forts along the length of the wall where soldiers were stationed. A massive earthwork, consisting of a ditch running alongside two parallel mounds, now known as the Vallum, was built immediately south of the wall. Hadrian ruled from 117 until his death in 138. Subsequently, the new emperor, Antoninus Pius, erected a turf wall north of Hadrian's Wall, which is now Scotland.