10 Biggest Megaprojects That Went Horribly Wrong

10 Biggest Megaprojects That Went Horribly Wrong

From bridge collapses to catastrophic dam failures, here are our picks for some of the worst megaprojects failures!

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[ElenarMT]

My old dad used to say "Son, never live in a house where water flows down to you". Wise words that helped guide me to never live downstream from a dam or near a river flood plain.

[bigverybadtom]

Actually, the railroad bridge didn't go wrong, it served its purpose for over a century. Hopefully the bridge was empty when the tornado hit.

[juslewissr]

I gotta say, though, the folks who designed and built the Viant Dam did one helluva job. The fact that it was already holding all of that water and was able to withstand so much more that it literally rushed over the top of it -- with the dam ultimately surviving that and still standing to this day -- is rather impressive.

[mileshigh]

1 tip, don't live anywhere below a dam!

[DownhillAllTheWay]

How refreshing - a video that starts off with an explanation of the thumbnail! Wow!

[Kirovets]

There's a thing about all megaprojects in the world that go wrong, that schocks me: The absolute UNIMAGINABLE amouts of material that go to waste: Concrete, steel, glass, aluminum, etc. The amount of waste is beyond imagination. And THAT, disturbs me big time!!!😡😡

[ecoideazventures]

@23:30 - "If burning cash were a useful form of clean energy, these people would win a Nobel prize"

[thomaskerley]

A couple points of correction and additional information on the Kinzua Bridge. First of all, it is pronounced Kin-zoo, not Kin-zoo-a. When it was rebuilt in 1900, the entire bridge was rebuilt using steel to replace the original wrought iron-except for one item. The concrete bases had wrought iron bolts sticking up and the footplates of the steel columns had holes to go on the bolts and nuts to fasten them together. The bolts were not replaced because it would have cost more time and money. Steel collar nuts were used to fasten the piers to the wrought iron bolts.

An inspection in 2002 showed problems that needed fixed. Repairs started February 2003, so the problem was being corrected when it was destroyed by a tornado on July 21, 2003. The story is detailed on an episode of Mysteries of the Abandoned, it is on Youtube.

I have visited the bridge and it is well worth visiting, especially if you are interested in history. It has a very nice and informative visitor center and has over 7, 000 Google reviews with a 4.9 star rating.

[michaelsoule]

Ah, America. Where the rich don't have to be responsible for anything as long as the right people are in their pockets.

[bobsacamano]

What happened in South Carolina is what happens when you favor corporations over people.

[ejzfnhg]

FOREST CITY
"Where happiness never ends"
Hahahaha
Because the happiness hasn't yet begun so therefore it wont and doesn't have an end

[tylersew]

Those unfinished projects are such a waste of resources

[mialikemeeuh]

Kinzua Park is so beautiful to visit. They really made the most of the tragedy.

[markanthony]

With so many occupational injuries and deaths, and so many issues with buildings being built with unsafe materials you'd think China would have an OSHA like organization that's three times stricter than OSHA, but idk.

[koriw]

17:02 We have Georgia W's cronyism to thank for the utility company making us pay for non-existent services. That happened to us in Western Washington outside Seattle. There is a company that had ancient, substandard equipment and they just asked the state legislature if WE could pay for it, and they said "of course! No problem!" We 'the people' got *no say in the matter.* then our bills went up more than 31%. Worse still, they stopped approving financial assistance for the underpaid, the elderly AND the disabled. No subsidy help was available from around 1990 to the present. I heard that they *only just* started an assistance program, but it has yet to help me, I'm a quad and can't work.

[TheCFD_Dude]

China has so many "ghost" towns it's insane. The only thing keeping them from really being abandoned ghost towns is the few people that chose to or were forced to move into the empty cities.

[icarusbinns]

Asphalt is a weirdly flexible substance… when manmade. When naturally-made, it’s a bit more brittle.
HOW flexible is the manufactured stuff? Galloping Gerty! Look at how much she was twisting before stress caused her to break

[JustaGuy_Gaming]

Never live down stream of a Dam. It never seems to end well. Either the dam breaks and your house gets flooded or washed away. Or the dam over fills during heavy rain and they open the flood gates to save the dam, again washing away your home. Either way that Dam becomes more important than your life to the city.

[davidt]

Nothing like corruption to keep a project on time and under budget.

[tedzehnder]

"Build It and They Will Come" ...famous last words.