4. The United Kingdom’s Forth Bridge
Situated in Scotland’s Edinburgh, Inchgarvie, and Fife
Founded in 1890
* Price: $120.18 million
As of 2016, the Forth Bridge—which was constructed by English engineers Sir Benjamin Baker and Sir John Fowler—has been chosen as Scotland’s greatest man-made marvel. UNESCO agreed, inducting Forth as a World Heritage Site and citing it as a national emblem. The Forth Bridge is an 8,094-foot cantilever railway.
Forth Bridge, United Kingdom, Shutterstock, Valerie Egorov
The bridge is 120 feet at the piers and just 32 feet in the middle. The bridge and high water are only 150 feet apart, indicating a low clearance. The bridge, which was constructed in the 1800s, is maintained by Balfour Beatty, the biggest contractor in the UK and a large competitor of Fluor.
The Forth Bridge’s historical significance must be understood in light of the following: prior to its opening, the Caledonian Railway or the North Western Railway required thirteen hours to travel from London to Aberdeen; these railways frequently competed, creating dramatic news headlines about a “Race to the North.”