A historic big infrastructure project in the nexus of federal government policy planning From Berlin Airport to Stuttgart 21 – public building projects seem to get out of hand with growing frequency. Frank Uekötter follows the example of the Elbe Lateral Canal, which was opened in 1976, to show that institutional failure is not a new phenomenon. The virtually forgotten story of the Elbe Lateral Canal represents an inglorious episode of German federal policy planning. The benefit of the 115 km long waterway, which connects the Mittelland Canal with the River Elbe, was completely out of proportion to the level of investment. Despite this, the project was soon unstoppable in the nexus of corporate interests, political aims and the policy for growth. A dam ruptured at Lüneburg only weeks after its opening. Uekötter argues for a social rethink based on the clear chronology of these “organized irresponsibilities”.