Channel Tunnel Might Have An Atlantic Big Brother?

im all for it if I get a cut on the tolls

£140bn, even for a single tube is "chump change".

I certainly don't want to stand in the way of this "pipe dream". :D

Where did you get that figure?

I heard 13 Trillion dollars. (dollars of 2 years ago)

source: geographic (youtube)

Wow !! That's 13 times the projected cost of the F-35 program.

This is 15 Trillion Dollar in $100.00 bank notes

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I took this number right from the article:

Even on the most generous estimation of cost, the price tag is eye wateringly high.

"If we could tunnel from the UK to the US for the same cost per mile as we currently build at - which we couldn't, due to distances, pressures and other things - a single bore would cost over £140bn." He adds that a single bore is not possible for safety reasons, noting that the Channel tunnel is in fact three tunnels.

First construct small Islands every 400km on piles between UK & USA. Then construct restrooms, gas stations,garages,police post etc in those Islands& ply ferry service to those Islands. Later you can connect those islands to either end in mainland by floating tunnels.

I can start tomorrow, but will need some help. The Atlantic has depths that succeed 5000 meters, averaging 3400. Perhaps we can cut 108 of the biggest mountains at the base and put these in there on the ocean floor and build from there? But what with the water level of the ocean?

With the floating tunnel pipes, a vacuum tube and a maglev train in it, you could live London and go to work in New York in less than 1 hour. (speed 5000 km/h)

You tube has 5 videos on the subject:

Atlantic ocean tunnel.

After careful consideration, I cannot start before we agree some payment terms. Thanks

Then think of floating islands.

http://cr4.globalspec.com/thread/73951#newcomments

Neutrally Buoyant Submerged Tunnel Bridges

Some good comments here.

I think Redfred brings up a valid concern in your linked thread, " Certainly the most dangerous condition will happen when an accident happens inside the tunnel and traffic stalls ....", let alone fire fighting and recovery of vehicles. We have enough problems dealing with existing tunnels that are considerably shorter than a Submerged Trans-Atlantic Tunnel Bridge. And then, add the Gulf Stream in to the mix? The anchoring system would have to be quiet substantial to deal with the surface area exposed to the currents. Yeah, there are cables stretched across the Atlantic, but their diameter is nothing compared to what a transportation tunnel bridge would be.

It's a cool idea and concept, but I think I'll stick with my airplanes for a while.

That's my 2¢ worth

This is happening right now in the San Francisco Bay area with one of the "BART" trains stuck in the Berkeley Hills Tunnel with smoking brakes, passengers were complaining of smoke inhalation .... . To watch the rescue coordination unfold (or lack of) was pretty sad. And these bores are less than 3.25 miles (5.1 km) in length.

Like a boat, just another hole in the water into which one pours money.

Probably not cost effective; but in terms of generating labor intensive economic activity, probably quite effective. Probably more so than the new generation bombers the US and Russia have in the works.

And more than likely at a lower life cycle cost.

they could take the tailings and build a mid-Atlantic island to attract tourist dollars to offset the trillions they'd be flushing on this boondoggle.

Won't it be cheaper to... drain the Atlantic? S.M.

I will have my people contact Israel and see if we can get Moses to part the seas. Not exactly engineering but from the stories quite effective.

Let's do it! We'll get the power from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiD9byql7wI

to make it all happen.

Never mind those pesky things like reality, we'll just ignore them.

we also call them Lunatics!

Who pays, and who builds?

Please not the US!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Dig

I like this part...

"From an engineering point of view there are no serious stumbling blocks,"

Really?

From where I'm sitting, we can't seem to keep conventional trains on the tracks.

... If only there was some way to travel above the ocean to get from the US to the UK, and back; you know, like some kind of flying machine.

No, no -- this is just crazy talk. Never mind.

That's just insane sci fi talk!

Next you'll be talking about real time video conferencing, and floating vessels for cargo.

Hey while were down there we can build a theme park around the Titanic. So we can view another of mankind's indestructible creations!

The first " engineering stumbling block " I can think of is the boundary of continental plates and how they are interacting. How does one design a system that remains useable when the interface between plates changes ? Seems to present more than a minor problem, especially if the angle of interface changes as well as the rate.

That a geological stumbling block, not an engineering problem.

Different department.

Ok so geology poses a problem and engineering has to come up with a solution. looks the same from my perspective. I dont expect a geologist to come up with anything more than environmental data and forecasts; its still up to the engineers.

I used the tongue face for sarcasm.

This entire concept is idiotic.

Cargo? Why?

We should be concentrating on exports to Canada and Mexico...no tunnel needed.

http://www.worldsrichestcountries.com/top_us_exports.html

America's exports to Canada amounted to $291.7 billion or 18.9% of overall US exports.

America's exports to Mexico amounted to
$216.3 billion or 14% of overall US exports.

America's exports to UK amounted to
$54.8 billion or 3.5% of overall US exports.

Agreed, was replying to a hypothetical situation, at best.

The scary part is, that people are actually considering this.

Might as well plan to build the world's most fuel efficient submarine.

No engines necessary...it just has to be really, really long, and have tracks in it to get things from one end to the other.

"Always with the negative waves, Moriarty. Why don't you knock it off with them negative waves? Why don't you dig how beautiful it is out here? Why don't you say something righteous and hopeful for a change?"

Kelly's Heroes (1970)

No, for the love of all things holy.. NO!

A tunnel linking the UK to the USA, I think not! The following condensed list has to happen if the tunnel is to become a reality..

1. You Yanks must learn to spell. Colour has a "U" in it, it's not spelt color!

2. There is no such thing as an American Oxford English Dictionary

3. Who the hell came up with the word "alphbetized"? The correct words are "alphabetical order"

4. adding 'tized' at the end of a word, does not make it a word! This practice MUST stop! The same applies to "musicality" and any word you Colonials add 'cality' on the end of!

5. You will have to recognize the Queen and the Crown.

6. Tea in large quanities will be consumed at 3pm every day, and not this Lipton's iced tea or similar rubbish.

7. You will learn to drive on the correct side of the road and learn the REAL highway code

8. American football will be banned, as we the British gave you a wonderful game of Rugby and you really screwed it up!

9. Baseball is the British game of 'rounders' this also will be banned

10 Basketball you can keep.... We like the Harlum Globetrotters!

and finally..

11. the soon to be disbanded government will pay all the back tax you guys owe the UK government since the War of Independence!

Move all floating garbage patches around the world to form a bridge between Spain & USA,reinforced with floating tunnel.

Oh "brich", you forget who got their butt kicked by a bunch of no-name farmers and woodsmen. It isn't the Americans who will do the changing, it is the Brits who will need to adapt. We did this to the country with the worlds biggest army and biggest navy, at the time. We did it without an established army to speak of. It was a group of ragtag men and women who were fighting for their freedom from a tyrannical aristocracy.

It is interesting to see some of the feedback to the POST though. Most of the great things we now take for granted started out as impossibilities in most peoples eyes. It takes visionary people to make great things happen. That said, this does seem like something that doesn't have much merit when you look at cost, risk, reward (ROI).

Actually your forefathers did not kick butt really. It was the age old military problem of having your communications, supplies and support lines stretched beyond their limits.

Same thing caused the Roman empire to fall, Napolean to fail and Hitler to loose on two fronts.. all because they couldn't supply and support their fighting front!

what your forefathers did was to accelerate the demise of the support structure for the British Army at the time, who by the way were part time rag, tag and bobtails kinda guys, but in a uniform! So once the chain of command failed, the food was all gone, and soldiers starting deserting... it was all over for the Crown!

AS for the tunnel.... it'll never happen!

It was kind of the first British civil war, in which the colonists decided to secede from the British empire.

These days we only strive to see who the most politically correct. It's a tight race.

Yet another solution looking for a problem to solve!

It's a plot by the UK to tax our tea again.

Ya'll done drink tea!! Lipton's Iced tea is NOT tea!

Two countries, separated by a common language.

Who ever heard of calling a truck by a girl's name?

only in the good old US of A!!