The world around us is full of incredible buildings and designs that make you admire in wonder. Others, however, make you question who trusted a bozo with a pencil. From moot malls to pointless planes, let’s take another look at the most useless megaprojects in the world.
Transit Elevated Bus or TEB
Most of us are not keen on public transport. However, one public transport innovation unveiled in China in 2010 might change our minds: the Transit Elevated Bus or TEB. It’s a 1,200-passenger elevated public transport system that travels along a fixed track at 40mph. Because the body is raised just under 7 feet above the ground it sails over most traffic, reducing congestion by up to 30%. That’s amazing! And with 25 miles of bus route costing $7.4 million, it’s roughly a tenth of the price of building a subway.
On second thoughts, maybe hit snooze. The thing is, Chinese road vehicles have a max height of 14-15 feet, more than double the height of the bus. So, if just one eighteen-wheeler comes along it’ll stop that thing on its track. Secondly, say if a car needed to change lanes, it would have to wait for the TEB to pass over it before it could move.It’s a logistical nightmare. Most annoyingly though, despite its name, it’s not a bus. It runs along a track, which technically makes it a train a slow and inefficient train. But if you pitched a train that moves at 40mph and gets stuck in traffic you’d get laughed out of the boardroom.Irrespective of those glaring faults, a 1,000 foot test track was built in Qinhuangdao to test out that horror show. And guess what they found out? It was a hot mess. The TEB couldn’t turn! It was a glorified shuttle moving up and down a fixed track.
China's Transit Elevated Bus Debuts at Beijing Intel High Tech Expo by CCTV Video News Agency
What buffoon designed that? Well, according to Chinese news, the lead designer only obtained a primary-level education. That explains a lot. They should be making volcano dioramas, not designing public infrastructure.Unsurprisingly, TEB got scrapped in June 2017, and the prototype bus was last seen sitting in a warehouse doing very little. Ironically, the test track blocks three lanes of traffic and is a huge source of irritation for residents and commuters. That’s the definition of useless.
Tupolev Tu-104
They say Air Travel is the safest form of travel. But whoever they are, they clearly never travelled on a Tupolev Tu-104. That Soviet airliner was groundbreaking for many reasons, and quite literally ground-breaking for others.
Between 1955 and 1960, 201 of those narrow-body, twin turbojet-powered aircraft were built. But between 1956 and 1981, 16 were lost in crashes, and a whopping 37 were written off as unsafe to fly. That’s 18%!
Alas, that plane was doomed from day one. For starters, the first Tu-104 factory didn’t even have a roof, most likely because of cutting costs, but roofs are pretty important! Which probably had an impact on the quality of the plane itself. Sure enough, test pilots found it clunky and unpredictable to control. When in the air, the plane stalled at low speeds and at high speeds it rolled one way and yawed back the other.
It wasn’t until another fatal crash in Leningrad in 1981, which wiped out the entire leadership of the Soviet Pacific Fleet, that they finally said enough was enough. In total, there were 1,137 fatalities from that piece of garbage plane.
Every cloud has a silver lining though, even the dark clouds bellowing from a smoldering wreck. That plane marked the beginning of passenger aviation in the Soviet Union, airports improved and everyone got comfy seats, it’s just a shame they had to sit in them while flirting with their demise.
In terms of cost, you can’t put a price on 1,137 innocent passengers, but the USSR was pretty keen to sell that pile of junk to international buyers. By 1960, one Tu-104 cost over an unjustifiable $2 million. So, the entire fleet of 201 jets, when adjusted for inflation, would set you back an unbelievable $4.2 billion.That’s the sale cost, not manufacturing and as we know they cut a lot of corners. So, the Soviets were looking to earn big from their awful design. Look, plane fans are gonna say that was super important for aviation developments and it was. It clearly wasn’t worth it.
American Dream Meadowlands
The American Dream Meadowlands megamall in Rutherford, New Jersey has been an American nightmare from start to finish.
On the face of it, it has everything: a 3 million square foot amusement park, a regulation hockey rink, a water park, a 16-story indoor ski slope, a bunny field, concert venues, mini golf, an aquarium, and over 450 stores. You’d hope for a lot considering the whole thing cost a staggering $5 billion. But what makes it useless?
Work started in 2004 but was halted due to major financing issues. It was so bad that New Jersey Governor, Chris Christie called Meadowlands a failed business model but still wrote a financing package of $200 million to get the job done. Shockingly, that didn’t go down well with people in Rutherford. In a state with major education budget deficits, was that really the best allocation of money?And shopping habits have changed a lot since the mall’s inception. With the huge rise of online retail, many stores are struggling to stay afloat. The developers say that mall will entice 40 million people a year. But the whole of Lower Manhattan only draws in about 12 million people a year. It doesn't matter how good your Shrek Water Park is, that’s a ludicrously overinflated figure. After many years of delays, the Mall finally opened in 2019, but it hasn’t been smooth sailing. In 2021, the ski slope caught fire, and that’s as ironic as it sounds. And in 2023, a decorative helicopter fell into a swimming pool at the Dreamworks Water Park. To top it all off, many of the stores are said to be empty! Honestly, was that $5 billion worth it?
Former East Rutherford Mayor, Jeffrey Lahullier said the mall was “definitely in trouble,” and it's hard to disagree. That could be the worst retail failure ever.
Marble Arch Mound
In the aftermath of the Covid lockdown, Westminster City Council in London tried thinking of a way to encourage shoppers to return to the area. And with all the power of their single, shared brain cell, they thought that would be the best solution.
They came up with the
Marble Arch Mound, a temporary 82-foot artificial hill built in the northeast corner of Hyde Park. It’s not even a hill, it’s scaffolding covered in fake grass and a mixture of real and fake plants. There was a viewing platform and a lightshow exhibition inside, which was kind of cool.
That shoddy lump of construction materials was forecast to cost an eyewatering $4.17 million of taxpayers’ money. But by August 2021, costs had skyrocketed to an unforgivable $7.5 million. The organizers, which is a generous title, had hoped to recoup the money by charging $10 admission. Only, that didn’t exactly go to plan.The mound opened in July 2021 but was forced to immediately close after the first wave of visitors complained about how bad it was. Parts of the scaffolding were visible, there were unsightly mud patches, and the attraction lacked a café which had been originally promised. It reopened in August for free before closing down again in January, that time for good.An ensuing investigation found a bunch of senior council members had lied to cover up how over budget the project was running, causing many to step down, disgraced. While it’s not the biggest, or the most expensive entry, it’s probably the most pathetic thing in the article.
The Line
Called NEOM, a ground-up urban development in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, planned to span over 10,000 square miles. It’s set to have an industrial complex, trade hub, tourist resorts etc. but the real eye-catcher is the development of a 106-mile long city called The Line. The project was launched in 2017 and held up as a technological marvel offering a utopian vision of the future.
NEOM | What is THE LINE? by NEOM
Essentially consisting of two parallel skyscrapers reaching some 1,600ft in height, it promises immediate access to all necessary amenities within a five minute walk. As well as, a hyper-speed train could transport you from one end to another in just 20 minutes. Plus, the whole city is set to be powered by renewable energy, with no roads or cars to speak of. It’s expected to cost between $1 trillion and $1.5 trillion when it’s complete.But wouldn’t it be worth it for a city that’s powered entirely by green energy? It turns out The Line isn’t as eco-friendly as they’re making it out to be. Construction is expected to generate 1.8 gigatons of CO2. That’s almost six times the carbon output of the whole of the UK, all sunk into a single city. Despite promising zero-carbon the reality couldn’t be farther from the truth. Then there’s the issue of human rights. Members of the Huwaitat tribe, an indigenous people to the area that giant city is being carved through, are being forced out of their ancestral homes and accused of terrorism if they refuse to move. Those glaring issues alone aren’t enough to make the project useless, but they factor into the bigger picture. A green city implementing technological advancements has huge bearings for our future., but Saudi execs can’t be trusted to actually pull it off. The Line looks cool. But it’s completely untethered from any tangible reality. It’s cuckoo talk from a political despot yeeting their money around. And when all is said and done, who’s actually going to live there? The Saudi population currently sits at around 37 million. When finished, The Line was originally projected to house nine million people. Is the plan to relocate a quarter of all residents?It’s never going to happen which is apparently something they realized. In April 2024, the news broke that The Line would be scaled back from 106 miles to just 1.5 miles. That’s super embarrassing. And it’s only further proof of how ridiculous the whole concept was in the first place. That isn’t a development for the future it’s a vanity project by a corrupt regime trying to appear like they’re nice guys.
Tappan Zee Bridge
The original Tappan Zee Bridge, which spans one of the widest points of the Hudson River, was built in 1955 after the Korean War. Material shortages at the time meant it was a rush job, not expected to last longer than 50 years. So, the process to replace the old bridge with a sparkly new one began in 2012. By 2017, specific lanes started to open, and everything looked pretty good. But that was about to change.
In December 2018, a former safety inspector turned whistleblower revealed there had been a huge coverup of glaring structural issues in the new bridge. Less than a year after being tightened into place, many of the bolts holding the girders together had failed or broken due to hydrogen embrittlement.Basically, tiny hydrogen atoms had pierced the metal, severely weakening the structural integrity. The chances of that bridge even lasting as long as the original were pulled into question. And that was a big problem.
Fast forward to 2021 and a shocking investigation revealed that key officials in the TZC construction firm had known about the issues. But instead of reporting them, they’d hidden them from safety inspectors and had been secretly replacing the bolts. TZC claims there’s not an issue anymore but they said that in the first place. Can we really trust them?
It’s not entirely useless as there is a bridge, and it does work. But for how long? Who knows. The old bridge was meant to last fifty years, and there’s a chance that one might collapse in the next five. The fact that many big players seem involved in a coverup makes that even more suspicious.
Montenegro Motorway
A lot of infrastructure projects seem flashy or unnecessary, but that’s not always true. Montenegro is one of Europe’s poorest countries, and floundering public infrastructure has kept it lagging behind its neighbors. So, a proposal for a 101-mile motorway, the first ever in the country which would link the port city of Bar with neighboring Serbia, seemed too good to pass up on. Instead, it turned out to be too good to be true.
Building roads isn’t cheap and
Montenegro needed money. So, the project was financed by a huge $1 billion loan from the Export-Import Bank of China, and many of the construction contracts were distributed to Chinese companies. However, if you look at the small print, there’s a clause that implies China could take territorial assets, like Montenegro’s main port as a result of failed payments.
What’s more, any arbitration or court hearing surrounding repayments would take place in Chinese courts, so probably wouldn’t view Montenegro favorably.
Was the road at least worth it? Not really. Six months after the first 25-mile stretch opened up, it became clear demand was much lower than expected. Traffic was light, and many roadside stores and rest stops had already crossed their signs out. And with only 25 miles of the proposed 101-mile road built, its future looks uncertain. The motorway has grown in popularity since, as it's much safer than other transport options. But to make payments on time Montenegro has refinanced the deal through the EU, further burying them in debt.
Elon Musk's Las Vegas Tunnels
Love him or hate him, Elon Musk’s had a busy little decade. However, two of his more recent business endeavors have drawn more critics than he’s used to. In 2021, Elon’s Boring Company opened a brand new transport tunnel beneath the Las Vegas Convention Centre. The $53 million development shuttles customers via Tesla Model 3s, reducing traffic in the city above. However, keen eyed critics have noticed a major flaw. See if you can spot it in the footage below:
Las Vegas Loop at CES 2024 - Tesla & The Boring Company by Fernando C No, it’s not the horrendous RGB gamer-girl lighting. Where are the exits? In the event of a fire, how exactly do you plan to safely get people out of that slow-moving, narrow, death tube? Accidents do happen. In 2020, 185,000 Tesla's were recalled because of touchscreen issues that could lead to fires. And there’s not even one emergency exit?While the journey around the convention center got quicker, a bus could also do that. Instead of developing public infrastructure, Elon’s built subterranean roads to force you to hire an EV for a 2-minute frolic through a dangerous tunnel. And the cars don’t even make use of Tesla’s self-driving capabilities. The so-called “future of transport” is some poor chauffeur confined to a stuffy pipe, shunting people along it all day. Most would rather cry on a crowded bus than melt to death in the Tesla Gamer Tube.
Still, that loop isn’t the loopiest thing cooked up in Elon’s brain. That would be the Hyperloop. The idea’s actually been around since Victorian times, but according to Musk, Hyperloop would be the fifth mode of transport after air, road, sea, and rail. He proposed it would be formed of three parts a pod, a pressurized tube, and some terminals to embark and disembark at.
With the help of “air bearings” which essentially create a thin cushion of air between the pod and tube the pods would be shot through the tube at insanely high speeds of up to 760mph. Despite the speed, hyperloop would supposedly be safer than other transport systems, the pod wouldn’t be affected by wind, ice, fog, and rain because it’d be inside the tube. And because the propulsion system is integrated, pods would only travel as fast as was safe. There’d be no possibility of human error.
However, over a decade later that is all Hype and no Loop. Initial tests only managed to transport two passengers at barely 100mph a fraction of the 760mph Musk envisioned. But the main issue with hyperloop is it’s a complicated solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. We don’t need a hyperloop. And capsules were planned to launch at near-supersonic speeds every minute, with each capsule carrying 28 passengers.
So, what happens if there’s a problem on the track? There’s only one track and that only works providing the vacuum seal stays tight. If a leak occurs somewhere along the tube the whole thing could implode and collapse. It’s another human death tube. But that wasn’t just any old death tube. A proposed loop around the Bay Area cost between $9 and $13 billion. That’s $84 to $121 million per mile. The very best high-speed trains cost just $2.2 million per mile, which is not justifiable. One of the companies that raised the most money for the project closed down at the end of 2023, and another laid off half its staff and moved on. Now, the entire project has been cancelled. So, remember. If you’re out and about and Elon Musk asks you to step into a tube for a minute, run for your life.
Jeddah Tower
If you thought we were done clowning on Saudi Arabian construction fails, guess again. In the image below you can see the Jeddah Tower. And when it’s complete the luxury skyscraper is due to be the tallest building in the world, at a mind-blowing 3,281 feet. That’s a staggering 591 feet taller than the current tallest building, the Burj Khalifa. Only, there’s no guarantee it will ever be completed.
Since construction began in 2013, the road up has been more than a little rocky. In 2017, production hit a bump when two of the main shareholders in the project were suddenly thrown in jail. What for? Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman initiated a purge of his fellow Saudi Princes, ministers, and businessmen in an attempt to centralize his political power.
The aim was to out corruption by, yes, doing something inherently corrupt. That derailed the project, which tried to push on but finally ground to a halt in 2018 with only the lower third of the building completed. Since then, not a great deal of progress has been made and it’s hardly justifying the $1.2bn price tag.
In 2023, the Saudi regime tried to secure more funding to get the ball rolling again, and in early 2024, the ball was in fact rolling. But for how long? Your guess is as good as mine. One day it might live up to the hype of being the tallest building in the world. But it wouldn’t be surprising if it stays in that part-built abandoned state forever.
Concorde
Few planes have caught public attention quite like Concorde and for good reason too. That plane was special for many reasons. With a max speed of Mach 2, or 1,350 mph, it was fast. Like faster than sound fast. Like London to New York in sub-3 hours fast. Sure, for a round trip, you’d have to fork out a staggering $7,000 and that’s 7 big ones in the 90s too. But it was luxury, it was sexy, and it had that cute little droopy nose which could be positioned at will to aid the pilot’s visibility.
For all the spectacle Concorde drew though, that thing sucked. Sorry Concorde fans, I love it too. But that project was a failure nose to tail. Despite drumming up significant interest early on, almost all of the 100 orders placed for the jet were cancelled. A major issue with a supersonic jet is that as it hits the speed of sound, it breaks through an invisible barrier known as the sound wall and creates sonic booms.
Basically, an aircraft traveling through the atmosphere continuously produces air-pressure waves similar to the water waves caused by a ship's bow. When the aircraft exceeds the speed of sound, those pressure waves combine and form huge, loud shock waves. It isn’t Concorde in the video below, but it is a plane breaking the sound barrier. Headphone users, prepare yourself:
F18 Hornet Sonic Boom by NH Moto It's definitely cool, but not if your home is beneath the flight path. Indeed, Concorde could only fly over water through fear of terrorizing small neighborhoods. Other factors gave airline operators cold feet too, including a high-profile crash of another supersonic plane, the Tu-144 a successor to the Tu-104, and we know how that went. What’s more, it soon became apparent that development costs had been underestimated severely, leading the initial sales cost per aircraft quote of $20 million to spiral.
A final sale price was never determined, but the British and French governments swallowed $1.4 billion in development costs each so their government-owned airlines could operate the craft. However, the program’s total costs were estimated at between $3.6 and $5.1 billion. If we adjust for inflation, that’s equivalent to a colossal $26 billion today.Concorde’s luxury dream finally came to an end on July 25th, 2000, when Air France flight 4590, a Concorde crashed shortly after taking off from Charles de Gaul airport. It was a tragedy, with the plane taking all nine crew members, one hundred passengers, and four people on the ground with it. All jets were taken out of service shortly after. What a horrific ending for something so culturally iconic.
If you were amazed at these useless megaprojects, you might want to read
part 1. Thanks for reading!
