The Most Expensive Construction Projects Known to Mankind

7. The subway system in New York

Place: USA's New York A total of about $180 trillion (as of right now) Year Completed: 1804 The Rapid Construction Company and the City of New York came to an agreement on February 21, 1900, to build the first line of the city's subway system. Although the first line was finished in 1904, the network has since seen nearly continual expansions and extensions, carrying over five million passengers each day over the thirty-six distinct lines that make up this complex network of rails.

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New York Subway System ©Shutterstock/OOsugi With 424 distinct stations, each costing an estimated $425 million to build (in today's currency), the total cost of the New York City Subway system to date is an incredible $180 trillion.

8. London Heathrow Airport

Location: UK's London Completed Cost: 26.02 Billion * Year: 1946 Initially designated as the London Airport, Richard Foley, an aeronautical engineer, initially created Heathrow as a military airport in the early 1930s. When it was initially finished, the airport just had a single grass runway; now, it spans over 7.5 square miles and is the biggest in the United Kingdom. In an average year, around 80 million foreign travelers transit through Heathrow (compared to just roughly 22 million in 2020).

Heathrow Airport ©Shutterstock/PPhilip Lange Heathrow Airport Holdings is the airport's owner, and as part of their ambitions for airport expansion, they have their sights set on building a third runway. The British Royal Family is among the many well-known celebrities that use Heathrow as a hub, so much so that the Windsor Suite, a covert terminal, was constructed on the south side of the airport complex.