And I, way back circa 1971, got to walk part way and back through the BART trans-bay tube. (After it was built but before it went into operation, they sometimes gave guided walking tours like that. Can you imagine anything like that being allowed these days?)
I know my Grandparents went through the Panama Canal in 1921 Atlantic to Pacific - they did a honeymoon trip to China and Japan [my Grandmother had a pair of Chinese women as college roomies and they went on the same ship with them. Not sure if the footage still exists but at one point in time I can remember seeing a short film of them going up some mountain road on donkeys in Japan. I can remember being given some assorted souvenirs they brought back when they were sorting out stuff after my grandparents had passed. ]
Pretty sure I remember them doing that for Boston’s Big Dig.
Facinating. The Dope has just about everything!
Not sure what your point is about “being allowed these days”. Most big civil engineering projects have some pre-opening celebration for the public. Especially taxpayer-funded projects.
Here’s a recent event in my area where they had the public out wandering around on a new runway at a busy airliner airport. And yes, they were on the new runway itself, not a nearby apron or taxiway or parking lot.
Video from local news media: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/soflanews-fun-day-on-the-runway-20140906-embeddedvideo.html
Pix: “Fun Day on the Runway” | The Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood Inte… | Flickr