Some of the remarkable events that happened just before ‘now’ on the Life of Earth in a Year timeline, are engineering feats that ever since their completion have made us ask: “Now, how did they do that?!?”
If 1 January is the formation of the Earth and 31 December is when it will be consumed by the dying Sun, Stonehenge was built 14 second ago (5100 years ago in real time). A second after that the Great Pyramid of Giza is built (4600 years ago). And this weekend (21-22 September 2024) will for sure go down is history as being when… the wooden bridge for pedestrians and bikes was placed over the Brussels ring road at the “4 Arms” crossroads in Tervuren, Belgium!
As with previous endeavours, it was long in the making, involved countless dedicated people from many disciplines and was a significant investment. Here are its vital statistics:
- Designed by the Swiss engineer Samuel Blumer;
- Built 1km from the crossroads in the central reservation of a (very wide) avenue;
- Ready to be put in place in April 2024, but it was heavier than expected so the plan for moving it had to be re-done;
- Weighs 300 tonnes
- 67 metres long
- Cost: €5 million
- Covered so that the wood is protected from the elements.
