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from the Betteridge-says-No...-how-about-you? dept.
Boris Johnson recently suggested that the UK could construct a bridge to France, which would cross the English Channel and span at least 20.7 miles (33.3 km):
Mr. Johnson, the British foreign secretary, raised the notion in a summit meeting with French officials on Thursday, according to people briefed on the talks. The two nations agreed to convene a panel to explore big projects, and Mr. Johnson wrote on Twitter: "Our economic success depends on good infrastructure and good connections. Should the Channel Tunnel be just a first step?" The idea generated extensive news coverage and even more ample mockery on social media, where the hashtag #BorisBridge quickly gained popularity.
[...] In 1930, the British Parliament only narrowly rejected a proposed tunnel, and in the 1960s, officials in both countries confidently declared that construction of some kind of crossing was imminent.
But in an island nation whose best defense against continental armies has always been the Channel, generations of military and political leaders saw proposed bridges and tunnels as potential invasion routes. Lately, the Channel Tunnel has beckoned intruders of a different sort: migrants from Africa and the Middle East hoping to reach Britain.
The Channel Tunnel already exists:
Proposed Channel bridges have, at various times, been dismissed as possible threats to navigation. (The Dover Strait, at the Channel's narrowest point, is one of the world's busiest shipping lanes, currently used by over 400 commercial vessels a day, according to the British Maritime and Coastguard Agency.) And even when the political will existed to build a crossing, coming up with the money was always a challenge.
The Channel Tunnel, opened in 1994, cost more than $10 billion to build, and was not heavily used at first, raising questions about whether it was worth the expense. But it now carries more than 10 million passengers and more than 20 million tons of freight annually.
Also at BBC, The Guardian, Channel 4, and CNBC.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 23 2018, @09:55AM
From 1933 through 1937, the USA built the Golden Gate Bridge.
It is 67.1 m above the water at high tide. You want a bridge that is only 5% taller than one we built over 80 years ago? I think this is not a problem.
There is no need to build pylons 500m tall, though this is no obstacle for modern engineering.
You think your English Channel is trouble? While a bridge was being built across the Akashi Strait in Japan, an earthquake moved the towers apart by an additional meter. Earthquakes of magnitude 8.5 are expected.