Uploaded August 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

---

Graceful and slender, the suspension bridge is the only structure known to man that can span more than one mile. With new computer technology, we find out what really happened at the infamous Tacoma Narrows collapse of 1940. Interviews with designers of the Humber and the Millenium Bridge explain the enemies bridge engineers must face as they seek to build the indestructible.

Subscribe to Blueprint: bit.ly/blueprintitvs

Building the Ultimate is a fast-paced and fascinating series, combining CGI, archive and actuality footage to show how modern technology has shaped the objects we use, fight with, live and travel in. Find out how and why our 21st century weapons, buildings, superstructures and vehicles have evolved in the face of often impossible odds, looking in detail at their different components to demonstrate human ingenuity and our endless quest to build the indestructible.

This film was first broadcast: 2003

Watch More Documentaries
True Lives - bit.ly/3A8xRMJ
Our History - bit.ly/3rUpdhL
Our World - bit.ly/3ftuckM
Our Stories - bit.ly/3ynfFyk
Taste - bit.ly/3OZoDcV
Up Close - bit.ly/3zMSJ1H
Crime Up Close - bit.ly/CrimeUpClose

Discover the best science, technology, and engineering shows. Explore amazing experiments, groundbreaking inventions, and the secrets behind incredible builds. Ignite your curiosity!

Content distributed by ITV Studios.

#science #technology #engineering