The BEST episodes of Extreme Engineering

Every episode of Extreme Engineering ever, ranked from best to worst by thousands of votes from fans of the show. The best episodes of Extreme Engineering!

Each episode of Extreme Engineering discussed some major construction project, some of them are projects that have already been completed like Hong Kong's airport. Others talked abount projects that are currently under construction like Tuneling Under the Alps. And some episodes talked about more futuristic projects that may never be done like the Transatlantic Tunnel. Most episodes finished by examining some sort of disaster scenario which could threaten or ruin the project that was being examined.

Last Updated: 1/27/2024Network: Status: Ended
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Building Mumbai's Modern Airport
star
9.93
29 votes

#1 - Building Mumbai's Modern Airport

Season 9 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/2/2011

The $2 billion Mumbai Airport Expansion project is one of India's most ambitious undertakings ever. If they succeed, it could completely change the way airports are designed.

Excavators
star
9.00
2 votes

#2 - Excavators

Season 2 - Episode 9 - Aired 11/22/2004

In northern Minnesota, the operators of the world's largest open-pit iron mine commission the construction of a $10 million custom-built super-shovel in the hopes of making excavation more efficient.

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Battle Machines
star
9.00
1 votes

#3 - Battle Machines

Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 11/13/2007

Danny Forster heads to Anniston Army Depot to re-assemble an Abrams tank. He also helps build components of this fighting machine and tests it on the firing range.

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Widening the Panama Canal
star
8.67
6 votes

#4 - Widening the Panama Canal

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 6/4/2003

A documentary looking at plans to update the Panama Canal. This magnificent waterway cuts through 50 miles of tropical jungle, allowing ships to travel easily from the Atlantic to the Pacific. However, time has passed this engineering marvel by - many modern supercargo ships are three times the size the canal can safely accommodate, so plans are in motion to widen the structure. The project faces all manner of environmental challenges, as well as leaving the canal closed to…

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The Snohvit Arctic Gas Processing Platform
star
8.67
3 votes

#5 - The Snohvit Arctic Gas Processing Platform

Season 3 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/19/2005

Europe's first liquefied natural gas plant sits on a floating platform. The platform was transported by ship from southern Spain to the coast of Norway.

Kuala Lumpur Mega Tunnel
star
8.50
2 votes

#6 - Kuala Lumpur Mega Tunnel

Season 4 - Episode 2 - Aired 3/8/2006

A 3-mile toll road is built on a 20-foot-high storm drain in Kuala Lumpur.

Cooper River Bridge
star
8.33
3 votes

#7 - Cooper River Bridge

Season 2 - Episode 7 - Aired 10/5/2004

Connecting the bustling port city of Charleston and Mount Pleasant in South Carolina, the Cooper River Bridge will be the longest cable-stay bridge in America. Spanning 490 metres across a busy shipping lane, the bridge has to be built of sturdy stuff. But the biggest threat to its survival is nature. Not only is the structure standing on one of the most seismic spots on the East Coast, it also faces the frequent threat of 300kmph hurricanes. The engineers faced a very tall order – especially with a relatively low budget of $531million. The mainline structure will accommodate eight 4m-wide lanes of traffic, separated by a central barrier. The road deck itself is suspended 54m above sea level by 128 individual cables, strung in parallel from the diamond-shaped support towers. Cable-stayed bridges consist of one or more pillars located in the middle of the span, with cables supporting the roadbed. In this case, each cable is capable of holding 500 tons. To protect the cables from changing weather conditions and moisture they’re enclosed in high-density polymer pipes. Rock barrier islands have been built up around the support towers to prevent ships from careering into the bridge. Plastic hinge zones are being built into towers to allow flexibility during an 8.0 magnitude earthquake. In addition, a damping system has been developed to ensure the structure can withstand hurricane-force wind. The Cooper River Bridge is designed to remain in operation for the next 100 years.

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Dubai's Ski Resort
star
8.33
3 votes

#8 - Dubai's Ski Resort

Season 3 - Episode 6 - Aired 1/21/2006

How do you make your mall stand out? By building one of the world's largest indoor ski resorts--in the deserts of Dubai! Ski Dubai features snow-making machines and slopes ranging in difficulty from easy to "black diamond."

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Singapore Sky Park
star
8.00
3 votes

#9 - Singapore Sky Park

Season 8 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/8/2010

Singapore's Skypark will hang 650 feet in the air on top of 3 skyscrapers.

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London's Olympic Aquatic Stadium
star
8.00
1 votes

#10 - London's Olympic Aquatic Stadium

Season 9 - Episode 4 - Aired 4/29/2011

The London Aquatics Centre will host 44 swimming & diving events during the 2012 Olympics and live on as a new addition to the London landscape. Danny Forster goes with crews as they construct one of the most advanced swimming facilities ever built.

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Azerbaijan's Amazing Transformation
star
8.00
1 votes

#11 - Azerbaijan's Amazing Transformation

Season 9 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/22/2011

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Port of Rotterdam
star
8.00
1 votes

#12 - Port of Rotterdam

Season 8 - Episode 10 - Aired 7/1/2010

Danny Forster goes behind the scenes at the Port of Rotterdam, where crews are in the middle of the largest Earth-moving project in history - all to triple the port's capacity, and help it serve the biggest ships on the planet.

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Abu Dhabi Central Market
star
8.00
1 votes

#13 - Abu Dhabi Central Market

Season 8 - Episode 9 - Aired 6/17/2010

Abu Dhabi's $15 billion Central Market will be a new cultural hub for an emerging world destination, complete with offices, parks, luxurious shops, and hotels - and all centered around the world's tallest residential tower, over 1250 feet high.

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Gotthard Base Tunnel
star
8.00
1 votes

#14 - Gotthard Base Tunnel

Season 8 - Episode 8 - Aired 5/30/2010

The Swiss government is spending 18 billion dollars to create the Gotthard Base Tunnel - the longest tunnel in the world, getting people and goods through the Alps up to 3 times faster and ultimately changing European transit forever.

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South Africa's Mponeng Gold Mine
star
8.00
2 votes

#15 - South Africa's Mponeng Gold Mine

Season 8 - Episode 5 - Aired 5/13/2010

Travel to the deepest place on Earth, Johannesburg, South Africa's Mponeng Gold Mine.

New Orleans Surge Barrier
star
8.00
29 votes

#16 - New Orleans Surge Barrier

Season 8 - Episode 4 - Aired 5/9/2010

In an attempt to save the city from another disaster, New Orleans is building the world's strongest hurricane protection system, including the largest storm surge barrier ever built and radical hurricane resistant homes.

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Kuwait Tower
star
8.00
1 votes

#17 - Kuwait Tower

Season 8 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/29/2010

The world's tallest twisting structure, Kuwait's Al Hamra Tower, is looked at.

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Hong Kong Bridge
star
8.00
1 votes

#18 - Hong Kong Bridge

Season 7 - Episode 3 - Aired 4/27/2009

Building the Stonecutters Bridge.

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Dallas Cowboys Stadium
star
8.00
1 votes

#19 - Dallas Cowboys Stadium

Season 7 - Episode 1 - Aired 4/20/2009

Building the new Cowboys Stadium

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Tunneling Under the Alps
star
8.00
5 votes

#20 - Tunneling Under the Alps

Season 1 - Episode 6 - Aired 5/7/2003

A tunnel over 35 miles long is to be dug under the Swiss Alps to redirect Europe's traffic. This $7 billion project will take 6 years to complete with man and machine fighting the mountains 24/7.

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Offshore Oil Platforms
star
8.00
1 votes

#21 - Offshore Oil Platforms

Season 2 - Episode 6 - Aired 9/25/2004

Engineers redesign oil platforms to withstand the harsh weather conditions in the Gulf of Mexico.

Hong Kong's Cable Car
star
8.00
6 votes

#22 - Hong Kong's Cable Car

Season 3 - Episode 3 - Aired 12/2/2005

Engineers are building the Ngong Ping 360, the world's longest detachable cable car system, on Hong Kong's mountainous Lantau Island, spanning the South China Sea.

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Big Easy Rebuild
star
8.00
1 votes

#23 - Big Easy Rebuild

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 7/5/2006

This episode takes a look at the emergency repairs implemented in order to help the city of New Orleans recover from the disastrous flooding caused by Hurricane Katrina in late August 2005. Katrina was one of the costliest and deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history and New Orleans bore the brunt of its fierce attack.

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Space Tower
star
8.00
1 votes

#24 - Space Tower

Season 4 - Episode 6 - Aired 7/12/2006

The 700-ft.-high Torre del Espacio (Space Tower) will be the tallest skyscraper in Spain upon completion. In this episode, the cameras film the week-long struggle to repair one level of the building.

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South Ferry Subway Station
star
8.00
2 votes

#25 - South Ferry Subway Station

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 10/11/2006

The South Ferry Terminal subway station is the first new subway station in New York City since the early 1900s.

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