If a mountain stands between you and your destination, the logical solution is to go around it – unless, of course, you find a way to go through it. What seems like an impossible feat to the rest of us, it is merely a challenge for determined engineers. Had Joseph Strauss listened to experts who deemed building a bridge from San Francisco to Marin County was impractical, then the Golden Gate Bridge may never have been built.

Now Boarding: From ice rooms to inside the Eiffel Tower, 7 of the coolest hotels on Earth

By the end of 2016, it’ll be possible to travel through the Alps in a high-speed train, thanks to the opening of the Gotthard Base Tunnel. Not only will it shorten the trip for passengers, but make it faster to deliver goods. Like the Golden Gate, the Gotthard, along with these five other modern engineering marvels, not only cut down on travel time, but make it possible to get from one place to another – something earlier generations could only dream of. Here are six incredible recent projects that make traveling over land a little less daunting.