Civil Engineering

I've noticed that the insides of road and subway tunnels are usually covered in ceramic tile. Is there any particular reason for this or is it simply convention?

Is there any rhyme or reason to how U.S. interstate highways are numbered?

It's been some 15 years in the making and is still under construction. What's the real story behind the Jeddah Tower's delay?

ByDave Roos

We are a species of bridge builders. Since time began, humans have engineered structures to vault over obstacles with the help of logs, stone, steel and, of course, ingenuity. So, what keeps our bridges steadfast and strong?

ByRobert Lamb,Michael Morrissey&Patrick J. Kiger

If you were on the road for the holidays, you probably spent some time staring at the bumper in front of you. Can you imagine a world without gridlock?

By Kevin Bonsor

London without the Tube? New York without its underground scene? Atlantans gliding straight from their MARTA stops to the airport? What would life be like without our underground transportation system?

ByTracy V. Wilson

While traveling along the Interstate, you may have noticed that truck weigh stations occasionally dot the highway. What are these weigh stations for, and how do they measure the weight of a truck? Find out the answer in this article.

In the news about the recent accident at a ski resort in Austria, the reporters called the cable car that carried the skiers up the mountain a "funicular railway." What is that and how does it work?

Often the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is in the news during a national disaster or levee project. But this agency has a long and storied history that goes back as far as George Washington.

ByDave Roos

The U.S. has some of the longest highways in the world, but the nine longest are scattered all over the globe.

ByJesslyn Shields

Bridges connect people and places, with inspired engineering and views that can't be beat. Here are the 10 longest in the world.

ByLaurie L. Dove

The Kola Superdeep Borehole is the deepest man-made hole on Earth. It's so deep, locals swear you can hear the screams of souls tortured in hell. Why did the Russians dig this deep, and why did they stop?

ByJennifer Walker-Journey

Saudi Arabia's proposal to build a 106-mile-long, self-sufficient, road- and car-free, one-building city would make it the first of its kind in the world.

ByLaurie L. Dove

Before 1933, getting around London on the massively confusing Tube system was a nightmare. That's when draftsman Harry Beck stepped in and revolutionized map design.

ByPatrick J. Kiger

You might be surprised to learn that the twists and turns of streets in the suburbs date all the way to the Industrial Revolution.

ByAdina Solomon

The Senate just crossed a hurdle to get a bipartisan infrastructure bill signed. It could pay for new roads, bridges and other installations that a country needs to function. But why is infrastructure so notoriously hard to fund in America anyway?

ByPatrick J. Kiger

Smart traffic lights monitor traffic and continuously adjust their timing to improve flow, and can even help disabled or elderly pedestrians navigate crosswalks. Could they be a solution to the problems of traffic stress and road rage?

ByPatrick J. Kiger

Drinking fountains have faced a challenge from bottled water, but they seem to be making a comeback. By the way, we throw away over 60 million PET water bottles every day in the U.S. alone.

ByPatrick J. Kiger

These days, you can do a lot more at a transit hub than simply catch a train or a bus.

ByPatrick J. Kiger

The Japanese inventor's textured ground surface indicators to assist pedestrians at traffic crossings.

ByMichelle Konstantinovsky

There's a mysterious tower in Texas that strongly resembles Nikola Tesla's Wardenclyffe Tower. Its constructors say they're testing some new forms of electromagnetic waves. But is something else going on?

ByNathan Chandler

Roundabouts aren't all that complicated, but they're still relatively rare in the U.S., especially when compared with France.

ByClint Pumphrey

China's Zhangjiajie Grand Canyon glass-bottomed bridge is so high most of the world's buildings would fit in the gap between it and the canyon floor. So why not hit it?

ByChristopher Hassiotis

Whether we're talking bricks or fences, there are serious logistical hurdles – not to mention financial ones – to walling off an entire country.

ByChris Opfer

What do you do when you're out of land but want to expand an airport? Try building on water.

ByJonathan Strickland