Eiffel Tower among iconic landmarks built faster than York Station Gateway
York Station Gateway in June 2026. Picture is from City of York Council (Image: City of York Council)
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Search the Public Notice PortalSOME of history’s most iconic structures have been built in less time than York’s Station Gateway project.
Construction on the Station Gateway scheme began on October 16, 2023, and is expected to continue through summer 2026.
This means that as of today, the road has been closed for roughly two years and ten months – however this timeframe does not include enabling works, which started in January 2022.
- Specialist mental health services for children at York NHS trust upgraded
- Major city centre bridge to close AGAIN for essential repairs
As reported by The Press in March, City of York Council’s city development lead Garry Taylor told councillors the ongoing Station Gateway scheme had been dogged by oversight problems from its early stages but they were now being addressed.
Since this time, a further £6.5 million has been spent and a row has erupted over who is to blame for the issues with the scheme – with opposition Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Nigel Ayre said the overspend was one of the authority’s biggest financial failures.
Cllr Lomas responded that the Liberal Democrats should apologise for approving a fantasy budget and reckless contract before they left office, leaving the current administration to sort out the mess.
Either way, residents have shared their upset about the time and cost of the scheme.
Here are some other projects completed in less time than the Station Gateway (by comparison, the original York Railway Station itself took three years to build between 1874–1877):
Suez Canal
The New Suez Canal expansion – One year and one day
Starting on August 5, 2014, and officially opening on August 6 of the next year, the new Suez Canal expansion took significantly less than time than its three year prediction.
The upgrades created a 35-kilometre parallel shipping channel and deepened existing canal sections - creating a 72 km central stretch where ships could travel in both directions.
The project also involved the construction of a new city, Ismailia, along with an industrial zone and fish farms, aimed at promoting the development of the tech industry.
That being said, the project did cost $8.2 billion – which is slightly more than the budget for York Station Gateway.
The Empire State Building.
(Image: PR)
** The Empire State Building – One year and 45 days**
The 1,454-foot skyscraper was a marvel of the art deco era and was completed between 1930 and 1931 - making it the world’s tallest building at the time.
Despite the Wall Street Crash in October 1929, the investors decided to plough ahead with the project because of how much progress had already been made in the lead up to building it.
It officially opened on May 1, 1931, 45 days before the planned opening date.
The Pentagon is seen from Air Force One as it flies over Washington (Patrick Semansky/AP)
The Pentagon – One year and 127 days
Construction on the US Department of Defence headquarters began on September 11, 1941, and the vast five-sided building - around 6.5 million square feet—was completed by 15 January 1943.
The building has seven floors, including two underground levels.
The US Army Corps of Engineers says an undertaking of that size would normally have taken four years, but wartime urgency, three-shift working and a huge workforce compressed the programme.
The Eiffel Tower and the Seine river in Paris
(Image: Zac Goodwin/PA Wire)
The Eiffel Tower – Two years and 64 days
The Eiffel Tower, which was the largest human-made structure at the time, was completed in March 1889 as the centrepiece of the World’s Fair and to crown the 100-year anniversary of the French revolution.
To this day, it remains the tallest structure in Paris with construction starting on January 26, 1887, and the foundations alone taking close to five months to be completed. The iron components of the tower were made in advance, before being brought to the site.
The proposed tower was controversial and was originally sited for demolition, but ultimately, it remained as it helped support technological advancements including wireless transmission and radio waves.