CONSTRUCTION ZONE

The Itaipu Dam is the world's largest hydroelectric power plant and a triumph of giant-scale engineering. Find out how engineers and over forty thousand Brazilian and Paraguayan workers toiled around the clock to create this immense structure. Follow the story as they lay millions of tons of concrete, divert the course of the world's 7th largest river, and relocate thousands of people and animals in order to bring power to millions of people in two countries while overcoming impossible odds and breaking construction and engineering records.

Perched 4,000 feet above the Colorado River on the very edge of the Grand Canyon is one of the most recent and innovative engineering marvels of our time. The Grand Canyon Skywalk, opened to the public in March 2007, is an engineering masterpiece united with natural wonder. The Skywalk is the first ever cantilever designed glass bridge. The skywalk is constructed in a horsehoe shape, which allows visitors a chance to walk out over the edge of the canyon and look straight down. It's about 4,000 feet above the canyon, which is higher than any of the world's largest buildings and extends 70 feet from the edge! This one-hour program will spotlight the Skywalk's design, construction and people that made it a reality.

It is the most famous road in the world-the Autobahn and one of the few places in the world where serious drivers can race luxury cars for seemingly endless stretches of mile after scenic mile at eye flattening speeds. The history, technology, and lore surround this modern marvel is truly impressive. Every driver that ever embraced the freedom of the open road owes a nod to Germany, because the modern highway was invented here. The Autobahn (meaning high-speed motorway system) is truly one of a kind.

The Golden Gate Bridge has been under constant attack from treacherous currents, fierce winds and sea fog laden with corrosive salts. But the worst may be still to come. Seismic engineers are predicting a massive tremor that would dwarf the killer quakes of the last century. In a $400 million retrofit, state-of-the-art isolation bearings and absorption devices are being installed to soak up an earthquake's damaging vibrations. The roadways and the cables they hang from are already new; now every rivet will be checked, over half the steel replaced and the concrete towers re-clad. It is the most complex and costly earthquake-proofing project ever undertaken on a bridge. But it is a race against time.

In 1953 a killer storm surge floods the Dutch coastline and claims over 1800 lives, inspiring the construction of the biggest, most sophisticated flood defenses on the planet. Costing billions of dollars, the systems of giant concrete and steel sea walls and retractable floodgates include one of the Seven Engineering Wonders of the Modern World. But with sea levels rising across the globe, the fierce North Sea and swelling rivers threaten to breach the defences again and wipe out the Netherlands, a quarter of which lies below sea-level. In response, the Dutch are designing floating houses and roads, even whole cities. Can technology once again ensure their survival?

In Berlin, a construction team races to finish the largest train station in Europe. To meet this deadline, can they get this daring plan to work?

Facing many challenges & hurdles, the designers of the Olympic Rendezvous must come up with a design that genuinely reflects green ideas and complements the green themed games in Beijing.

The Kansai Airport in Japan is considered to be one of the great engineering achievements in the world, second only to the Panama Canal. It is a "State-of-the-Art" facility that handles over a million passengers a week. It has all the operational problems of a normal International Airport, but on top of that it has to contend with typhoons, earthquakes and to top it all off? it's sinking! We will go behind the scenes to figure out how this feat of engineering works.

It seemed like an architect's dream: to build a massive skyscraper in the heart of one of the world's fastest growing cities; the Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. But for architect Cesar Pelli and his team the dream became an assault course of conflicting priorities; lack of standard raw materials; unstable ground; all to construct the world's tallest building.

Meet the mother of all Mega Movers: the Panama Canal. Lifting a mind-blowing 14,000 ships a year, the Panama Canal relies on some of the mightiest machines in the world: gargantuan locks, a colossal crane, and the worlds largest dipper dredge. This is one of the trickiest waterways in the world, but thousands of ships risk it every year to deliver their goods faster. Demand is so high, traffic never stops and plans for a bigger better canal are underway. Can this mega mover handle the pressure?

The two giant ships of Sea Launch, a NASA-like mission control and a launch pad floating on the ocean, form part of an audacious, outrageously expensive, multi-national venture for blasting commercial satellites into space. The plus side: it's a very effective way of launching satellites into geosynchronous orbit (allowing the satellite to keep pace with the earth's rotation). The minus side: it cost over a billion dollars, it's never been done before, and it's riddled with challenges. The tale of Sea Launch involves spectacular engineering successes, the launch of the heaviest commercial payload in history (weighing nearly six tons), and a couple of costly failed launches.

The Sears Tower is the tallest building in North America, but how does this mega structure work? Understand the quirks of building and running a super-tall skyscraper by going deep inside this one-of-a-kind structure. Experience a wild ride inside the elevator shafts. Climb inside the towering antennas. Snoop in the cleaning closets, and get a window-washer's view of Chicago. Get inside the minds, and the jobs, of the people who keep this building standing tall.

Get a rare look at the US Navy's newest monster of the sea as it goes through a historical rite of passage. The USS Ronald Reagan must obtain flight deck certification before going into service, and we're there to see how the Reagan and its crew proves to the US Navy that they're ready to roll. And once it's in service, it'll be a force to reckon with. At one thousand feet long, the Reagan's as long as the Empire State Building is tall. The Reagan can house over six thousand sailors and keep them fed for up to three months! Its nuclear-powered engine can run for over twenty years without ever having to be refueled! Speaking of fuel, the Reagan can store over three million gallons of jet fuel in support of up to 85 combat aircraft! All together, it adds up to a giant steel city at sea, only this city also has the added responsibility of protecting the United States!

MegaStructures brings you the newest nuclear sub to prowl the oceans, the USS Virginia. The first major redesign of nuclear subs since the end of the Cold War, the USS Virginia is the most tricked-out underwater warship in the US Navy. Built to answer America's military needs for the 21st century, this sub features a number of forward-looking advances in naval technology. We'll take a hard look at how the USS Virginia came to be as we talk with designers and engineers about the challenges that arose in creating a new class of submarine. We'll also follow the newly commissioned USS Virginia as the Navy brings this marine megastructure up to speed. This show promises to be an exciting ride aboard the newest addition to the Navy's nuclear-powered arsenal.

The world is desperate for oil and gas. But dwindling energy supplies are forcing oil rigs to drill in some of the harshest environments on the globe. It takes a Megastructure oil rig, like the Noble Piet, to withstand the fury of nature and keep on drilling. Follow a skilled team of roughnecks as they battle the elements of the North Sea in pursuit of an untapped reservoir of natural gas worth 350 million dollars. But there's a shortage of oil rigs like the Noble Piet. So the Keppel FELS shipyard in Singapore is designing and building an impressive of 23 rigs at once. Can this shipyard build rigs fast enough to keep up with exploding demand and tough enough to endure the punishment of drilling in the open sea?

THE ULTIMATE ROLLER COASTER is a one-hour MegaStructures special exploring the latest in roller coaster engineering and technology. We'll follow the building of KINGDA KA - the world's fastest and tallest roller coaster ride. Designed to speed from 0 to 128 mph in 3.5 seconds and soaring a record-setting 45 stories, KINGDA KA is a structural giant. We'll follow designers testing their creations, reveal state of the art technology, and witness its entire construction from start to finish.