Improving transport infrastructure - inc. Scotland to Northern Ireland tunnel

[whole diary]

[broadgage]

I remain doubtful as to the merits of undersea tunnels.
They are inherently vulnerable to fire and consequent loss of life. A long tunnel also has ongoing energy use for lighting, cooling and ventilation.

A bridge would seem preferable since it is in the open air with no question of smoke building up. Ventilation is free, cooling not required, and rescue possible by sea or by air in case of an emergency.
Intermediate supports could be combined with wind turbines.

Another possibility is a causeway, with water turbines built in to generate power from tidal flows.

If the channel tunnel was not already existing, I doubt that it would be built nowadays. A bridge crossing though would be a possibility.

[ellendune]

If the channel tunnel was not already existing, I doubt that it would be built nowadays. A bridge crossing though would be a possibility.

The huge amount of shipping in the channel is what rules out a bridge, there is too much risk of a ship colliding with the bridge. That was of course the fate of the old Severn rail bridge. 

Regarding the Irish sea - A bridge would still have to avoid the Beaufort trench arms dump and would be a big risk is high winds, which are not uncommon in those parts.  So it might be as unreliable as the ferry is now in bad weather.

[grahame]

Solution to the gauging issue:

[Clan Line]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-56325106

[grahame]

From GE Plus

Earlier this year Boris Johnson?s secretary of state for Scotland, Alister Jack, made the case for a tunnel to link the Scotland to Northern Ireland. At the time he said it would be cheaper to build and more efficient to use than a bridge. In 2019 Johnson proposed a bridge across the Irish Sea which was widely criticised.

Just the man for a nonsense, will-never-happen bridge to nowhere.

It seems we overlooked history here - there once was a bridge ... and I was at one end of it today

As both the Giant's Causeway and Fingal's Cave on Staffa are  made of the same neat basalt columns, legend holds that they were the end pieces of a bridge built by the Irish giant Fionn mac Cumhaill (a.k.a. Finn McCool), so he could make it to Scotland where he was to fight Benandonner, his gigantic rival.

I fear the problem with rebuilding this bridge, though, will be the onward link to Ulva, to Mull, and to the Scottish Mainland.

[ellendune]

Don't tell Boris he will have some hapless civil servant trying to track down Finn McCool to rebuilt it!

[MVR S&T]

The bridge idea is to be scrapped.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59368707
Wonder if this is yet another nail in the coffin of NI being part of the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)? Can I say that on this forum, or is that a political statement.

[grahame]

Can I say that on this forum, or is that a political statement.

Probably both. 

[stuving]

The bridge idea is to be scrapped.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-59368707
Wonder if this is yet another nail in the coffin of NI being part of the UK^▸ (United Kingdom)? Can I say that on this forum, or is that a political statement.

While the news was widely announced, and we had a link to the Union Connectivity Review final report, that has nothing about the fixed link to Northern Ireland. Escaping from that document link finds the UCR page itself, with some earlier documents and the feasibility report on the GB^▸ (Great Britain)-NI fixed link.

As reported, this says it is feasible but its cost is exceeds the national supply of arms and legs. What surprises me is that the only design options considered are all tunnel and all bridge, though a bit of each is mentioned when comparing routes. Obviously they thought the submerged floating tube bridge (or more extreme exotica) not worth even dismissing.