The Red River Floodway is a massive piece of engineering glory. The floodway is basically a massive ditch that diverts the spring meltwater around the city of Winnipeg to avoid catastrophic flooding.

It was completed in 1968 after six years of construction at a cost of $63 million, but has prevented over $40 billion in flood-related damages since its construction. The ditch earned the nickname “duff’s ditch” after the premier Duff Robin whose provincial government began the massive project. Only the construction of the Panama Canal has moved more earth, with 76.5 million cubic meters (2.75 billion cubic feet) of earth excavated.