Hainaut
Half a century ago, the Belgian Ministry of Public Works rolled up its sleeves to build an industrial road between a factory and a nearby freight station in Hainaut.
Useless infrastructure works
Discover Europe's most intriguing architectural oddities, from unfinished projects to abandoned infrastructure works or boondoggles. Explore the stories behind these fascinating yet ultimately useless megaprojects.
- 18 destinations
Hainaut
The Ronquières Inclined Plane spans 68 meters and thus replaces sixteen locks on the canal between Brussels and Charleroi.
East Flanders
Almost thirty years after the construction of this useless bridge, the planned regional road underneath has still not been constructed. Instead of cars rushing by, nature is given free rein for now.
Italy
The 1.5 kilometer-long runway of Tortoli-Arabatax airport ends a few meters short of San Gemiliano beach.
Berlin
In 1937, architect Albert Speer unveiled his plans for converting Berlin into Welthauptstadt Germania. In his imagination, the new Berlin was teeming with ostentatious monuments that kept pace with the megalomania of the Third Reich.
Hainaut
In the shadow of the Strépy boat lift, an unused four-lane road leads to a freshly ploughed field.
Berlin
A 75-year-old scale model is the only reminder of the plans for constructing a new southern curve featuring a steep banking on the AVUS circuit in Berlin.
Berlin
Instead of cars and trucks rushing by, grass, trees and shrubs grow on the A103 highway in Berlin's Schöneberg.
Latest from the blog
A collapsed and flooded complex of mining galleries stretches between 600 and 800 metres below the cyclocross World Cup 2025 course in the northern French town of Liévin.
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