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A projected tunnel connecting the United States and Britain is one idea in the field of future infrastructure that never fails to captivate people.
Despite being 3,400 miles apart, this enormous project, which is expected to cost an eye-watering £15.6 trillion, embodies.
The ambitious spirit of removing geographical borders and tangibly supports the “special relationship” between the two countries.
Currently, it takes over eight hours to fly from London to New York, but proponents of this transatlantic tunnel dream of cutting that time down to just a morning commute.
The idea, which is more than a century old, would involve building a corridor that is several miles deep under the enormous Atlantic.
In contrast, it took six years of arduous labor to build the Channel Tunnel, a short 23.5-mile section under the English Channel that connected France and England.
A number of ideas have been put out to make the Transatlantic Tunnel a reality, including burying it entirely under the ocean bottom, installing a conduit above it, or even combining the two.
An other idea is a floating tunnel that is 49 meters below the surface, made up of many prefabricated sections, and cable-secured.
According to the Express, this novel design would allow trains to move safely across continents, avoiding the extreme pressure of the chasm and the dangers of the sea above.
Most people agree that the building would be better suited for trains than for automobiles since driving a vehicle would take days and need extra infrastructure.
Vactrains could theoretically travel at up to 5,000 mph, cutting the travel time from London to New York City to only 54 minutes.
In order to assure a safe arrival on the other side, jet propulsion has also been proposed as a way to move the carriages at high speeds.
However, this technology would need an 18-minute deceleration time after reaching full speed. There are presently no significant plans being considered by governments on either side of the Atlantic, despite the concept’s enormous price and practical difficulties.
Plans for a tunnel connecting Europe and Africa are well advanced, but it seems unlikely that Europe and North America will be linked very soon.
Earlier this year, it was projected that before the end of the decade, a new undersea tunnel would connect Morocco and Spain.
According to the Moroccan National Company for Strait Studies (SNED), efforts are being made to determine the project’s viability from a financial and logistical standpoint.
A 17-mile underwater section that would descend to a depth of 475 meters would be part of the tunnel if it were constructed.
It would link Malabata in northern Morocco, just east of Tangier, with Punta Paloma, west of Tarifa. This is in contrast to the 23-mile underwater section of the Channel Tunnel, which descends to a relatively shallow 75 meters.
Although some estimates have the cost of building the two tunnels linking Europe and Africa at £6 billion, the exact amount is uncertain.
The construction of a third, maintenance tunnel is also included in that cost. Considered a strategic asset for Europe and Africa.
As well as for Spain and Morocco, the tunnel over the Strait of Gibraltar was initially suggested forty years ago.