Today, on March 13, 1988 (Japan):
Normally bridges are built to connect two land masses together across a body of water; however, the ingenuity of the Japanese was displayed when they completed their Seikan Tunnel — a 53.85 kilometer (33.46 mile) railway tunnel connecting the two–of which 23.3 km (14.5 mi) is within the seabed of the Tsugaru Strait. Its construction marked the creation of the longest and deepest operational rail tunnel in the world.
In 1954, after a typhoon caused the loss of 1,400 lives travelling by Ferry through the strait, plans were devised to create the tunnel. Construction lasted from 1964 until its completion in 1988. And of the 3,000 workers, 34 people died as a result of this construction from cave-ins, floods, and other related incidents.
This tunnel was used to connect the Kaikyou Rail (海峡線) between Aomori City, Aomori and Hakodate City, Hokkaidou.
Read more @ http://bit.ly/1fUEIhj
(Photos from nishinojinja.or.jp and tunnellove.cocolog-nifty.com )