How a highway runs through a giant hole

How a highway runs through a giant hole

Just south of Chicago lies the Thornton Quarry, a limestone excavation that is nearly 500 feet deep and over a mile wide. I-294 runs directly through it, featuring sheer rock walls that plunge hundreds of feet. This site serves as a significant engineering landmark in America, with a history connected to Chicago founder Gurdon Saltonstall Hubbard. The video explores the evolution of limestone mining, the construction of the Tri-State Tollway, and the Deep Tunnel Project, highlighting how the former quarry became essential to Chicago's flood control system, capable of holding billions of gallons of stormwater. Additionally, it covers its geological history, which dates back 440 million years to a tropical sea and includes a meteorite impact. #Chicago #Engineering #History Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Episoder(563)

Why Cheyenne Mountain is Totally Forbidden

Why Cheyenne Mountain is Totally Forbidden

Carved deep into the granite of Colorado’s Front Range lies the Cheyenne Mountain Complex, one of America’s most secretive Cold War creations. Built to survive nuclear war, this underground fortress h...

22 Mar 19min

What's Below Chicago's Bean? The Lost Railyard

What's Below Chicago's Bean? The Lost Railyard

Beneath Chicago’s Cloud Gate lies the city’s dramatic transformation. This episode traces Grant Park's evolution from marshland and post–Great Fire landfill to a bustling urban landmark, exploring Dan...

21 Mar 34min

Why Dark Entry Forest is Totally Forbidden

Why Dark Entry Forest is Totally Forbidden

Hidden deep within the forests of Connecticut lies the ruins of Dudleytown, a vanished colonial village that mysteriously disappeared, leaving behind only stone foundations and enduring legends. This ...

20 Mar 16min

Why This Massive Asylum Was Left to Rot | The Story of Fairfield Hills Hospital

Why This Massive Asylum Was Left to Rot | The Story of Fairfield Hills Hospital

Hidden in Newtown, Connecticut, Fairfield Hills Hospital stands as one of America's eeriest relics of mental health history. This vast psychiatric complex, known for its extensive underground tunnels,...

19 Mar 20min

What Happened to Chicago’s Lost Lake Bridge?

What Happened to Chicago’s Lost Lake Bridge?

In the mid-1800s, Chicago faced the challenge of battling Lake Michigan's storms that eroded its shoreline. Engineers constructed a bold trestle bridge over the lake, with the Illinois Central’s woode...

18 Mar 14min

Why America Abandoned Blockbuster & What Remains

Why America Abandoned Blockbuster & What Remains

Before streaming changed everything, Blockbuster Video was a dominant force in the American weekend, operating over 9,000 stores worldwide by the 1990s and renting 100 million tapes weekly. This episo...

17 Mar 11min

The Dangerous Mills That Changed America Forever

The Dangerous Mills That Changed America Forever

In the early 1800s, Lowell, Massachusetts, emerged as the birthplace of America's Industrial Revolution. The city was characterized by red-brick mills and roaring turbines that reshaped the nation's e...

16 Mar 17min

Why was Bonwit Teller lost to Trump Tower?

Why was Bonwit Teller lost to Trump Tower?

Before Trump Tower was built on Fifth Avenue, the Bonwit Teller Building, an architectural treasure designed in 1929 by Warren & Wetmore, occupied the site. This elegant structure featured a limestone...

15 Mar 26min

Populært innen Historie

rss-dette-ma-aldri-skje-igjen
med-egne-oyne
rss-katastrofe
henrettelsespodden
historier-som-endret-norge
rss-benadet
historier-som-endret-verden
rss-nadelose-nordmenn-gestapo
rss-strid-de-norske-borgerkrigene
sektledere
rss-frontkjemperne
aftenposten-historie
historiepodden
rss-bisarr-historie
liberal-halvtime
rss-historiske-romanser-svik-drap-og-kjarlighet
vare-historier
taakeprat
rss-gamle-greier
rss-historier-fra-gudbrandsdalen