If you’re a gadget geek then you’re probably like me: you live for those moments when humans achieve exquisite and enormous engineering feats.

Well, it took over six years and about 642 million dollars but the channel bridge over the River Elbe (a river that partially split East and West Germany) has been completed. Basically what you have here is water route engineered to go overtop another river and connect two canals on either side. Previously, boats would have to actually enter the River Elbe to cross from one canal to the next, creating a water intersection. This channel-bridge eliminates that intersection.

Now I wonder how thick the designers of this water bridge had to make the bottom to ensure a long life of no leaks. Double, triple fail-safe? Erosion? Double, triple safe? And what about the boats coming by? What if one of those guys ran into the side? Double, triple safe?

Regardless, the thing is quite cool and even serves a symbolic purpose to signify the re-unification of Germany.