Dutch devise subway for Amsterdam — that sounds like the equivalent of an engineering oxymoron; much of Amsterdam is below sea level. But it’s true, as the article in USA Today explains.

And what an engineering feat it is. Having already mastered the technology of keeping the ocean from its streets, the Dutch are now building streets below their streets, but at an incredible cost:

Scheduled for completion in 2013, the $2.4 billion project stretches 5.9 miles in all and will transport an estimated 200,000 people daily, adding a new dimension to Amsterdam’s traffic of bicycles, trams, cars, taxis, buses and boats.

You’ve got to love the Dutch. This tiny country has a fabulously intriguing history of trade, cultural expression, engineering originality, perseverance … the list goes on. Plus, they’re the tallest people on the planet.

Pity about those wooden shoes, though.