28 September 2018
The next time you pass through a tunnel on a road trip, flush a toilet, or hop on a plane for that long-awaited summer holiday, spare a thought for civil engineers. Why? Because without them, not one of the things we just listed would be possible. In fact, all over the world right now, people are going about their everyday business because of civil engineering. And they don’t even realise it. (you could even be among them).
At Mackoy however we know how important civil engineering (and groundworks for that matter) is to modern day society. The two things are our area of expertise after all. And we’ve been providing full groundworks infrastructure and civil engineering services to UK house builders for 7 years. Everywhere from Dorset and Hampshire, to Sussex and Surrey. So we get to see first hand how the work we’re responsible for is changing the face of Britain. For the better we might add.
We also know that the average Joe on the street doesn’t stop to think much about civil engineering. And a big majority of the population probably isn’t even aware what a civil engineer does (others haven’t heard of civil engineers at all). And yet, were it not for civil engineers our lives (and the world) would look a whole lot different. So you could say civil engineers are the unsung heroes of civilisation, as we know it.
Either way, they’re responsible for a lot of the modern conveniences we take for grated in 2018. So, to prove just how important civil engineers are, here are 5 things civil engineers have delivered us (even if you didn’t know if was them that did it).
From the Golden Gate and Clifton Suspension Bridge, to Sydney Harbour Bridge and Tower Bridge in London, every one of these world-famous bridges came about because of civil engineering. And it’s not just these famous few bridges civil engineers have a hand in. All bridges require a civil engineer’s input to do the complex calculations that ensure these structures are safe, stable and able to withstand environmental impact.
The same goes for tunnels too. A feat of engineering such as stabilising a huge rock once you’ve tunnelled through it requires exact maths to get right. Everything hinges on precise and accurate geographical and physical proportions. After all, the slightest miscalculation and the structure could collapse or become unsound. And that doesn’t just apply to tunnels above ground, but those under them too. The Channel Tunnel connecting Kent to Calais, and the Eurotunnel, making it possible to travel by train direct from London to Paris, are all the work of civil engineers.
Nowadays when nature calls we excuse ourselves to a shiny sanitised WC privately, go about our business, and the rest takes care of itself. Well, technically there’s a bit more to it than that but that’s how it appears on the surface at least. It’s a process so ingrained in everyday life that, just like riding a bike or breathing, we don’t even have to think about it. But this wasn’t always the case.
It wasn’t until 1850 in London that sewers got a radical revamp when civil engineer Joseph Bazalgette was drafted in by MPs to build a new underground system that would service London’s population. The project took 9 years to conclude, spanned 100 miles, and used 318 million bricks. These same pipes still continue to service London today thanks to Bazalgette’s decision to use Portland concrete, which hardens against water, and a larger pipe dimension. Had he not, the sewers would have become overwhelmed in the 60s as London’s population spiked. But thanks to Bazalgette’s forward-thinking ingenuity, the sewers are still in perfect working order to this day.
As if being responsible for the existence of bridges and tunnels wasn’t enough, civil engineers have pretty much made themselves intrinsic to the way we travel the world in 2018. In fact, highways, the railway, and even airport runways (as well as airports themselves) are all a product of civil engineering. At its finest we might add.
Not only is it now possible to drive from one end of the UK to another, but thanks to the continued expansion of rail links, and airports such as Heathrow, we can now get further afield than ever before. Making it possible for us to live or work anywhere in the world. And travel to the farthest reaches of the globe. And all because a clever civil engineer came up with the design and infrastructure that allows trains to cross countries and planes to reach speeds that make them airborne. In fact, the largest civil engineering project recently undertaken in Europe just so happens to be the new Crossrail train network.
Benjamin Franklin may have discovered electricity but it’s down to civil engineers that we have energy in our homes (and everywhere else) today. As well as running water too for that matter. In fact, civil engineers play a key part in establishing the infrastructure that delivers gas, electricity and fresh water supplies across the UK. And it’s not the infrastructure alone they help to design, construct and implement, but also the means to generate electricity and other manmade fuel sources too.
In fact there are now specialist branches of civil engineering geared entirely towards creating the technology and infrastructure that will one-day fuel our future homes. These include dams, wind turbines and tidal range schemes, which generate power purely by the river flowing. These are just some of the ways that civil engineers engaged in renewable energy schemes are attempting to lessen our environmental impact. And identify new ways of producing power once our existing supply of fossil fuels is exhausted.
And finally, what would the world be without the Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, or the Hanging Gardens of Babylon? These wonders of the world may have been created centuries ago, but they’re still the work of the civil engineers none the less. Albeit of a different era and age.
After all, building something as complex as a pyramid, or as far-reaching as China’s Great Wall, doesn’t come about by happenstance. These structures took meticulous planning and relied on the principles of civil engineering to execute. It’s the reason they’re still standing to this day. And their existence is testament to the way civil engineers have shaped the world, through the years.
Civil engineering and groundworks are our specialism at Mackoy. So if you have a project that requires technical drawings, or groundworks infrastructure, talk to us about the ways we can help. You can get in touch via the form on our Contact page. Or to find out more about the clients we work with, recent projects we’ve helped deliver, and new tenders we’ve won, take a look at our News page for more info.
Categories: Civil Engineering
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