UK Just Jealous of Russia’s Bridge: Maybe Moscow Can Help Them Build One Over the Channel?
The current British political establishment denies modern international reality. That's the answer of the Russian embassy in London to the UK deputy Foreign Secretary Alan Duncan who called the Crimean Bridge a symbol of "the violation of Ukraine’s sovereignty". and "a further example of Moscow's reckless behavior".
Firstly, Russian diplomats reminded their British colleague about the coup d'etat in Kiev fully supported by the UK, that's what is "reckless." Secondly, they wondered if their colleagues and everyone working at Downing Street were just envious. Well, they rather gave a wink and trolled them a bit. This is what their suggestion looked like: "We're ready to share the experience of building such complex objects with London (for example, across the English Channel) if you're interested."
Vadim Zavodchenkov knows if, in theory, they might want it.
- Hello.
- Greetings.
- There's a tunnel, but would a bridge be useful too?
- Well, Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson believes it's necessary.
He made this statement in January 2018 shortly after Brexit, in order to preserve ties with Europe. Although not many in the homeland of the extravagant politician took the idea seriously. The head of Foreign Office is known for his affection of unrealistic mega projects.
Unlike Russians, the British are slow both to saddle up and to ride. History has plenty of examples. The joint British-French project to create Concorde supersonic airliner took two decades. One of the most ambitious construction projects of the 20th century, the tunnel under the English Channel, started back late in the 19th century. Then they stopped after simply building stations. But with striking perseverance, engineers kept proposing projects to connect Britain with the continent.
By 1941, there were more than 300 different projects to build bridges and tunnels. Here's one of the first, dating back to 1890. It was supposed to be built in one of the narrowest places of the strait. A special company, Channel Bridge, was created to finance it. Two of the top engineers from France and Britain were involved in the project. But soon it was put on hold. Then, concerns were understandable. No one had ever built bridges on such a scale before. But what's preventing that now? Technology has advanced so far.
One of the main arguments against the bridge is busy maritime traffic. The English Channel sees more than 500 vessels daily, some of them up to 230 feet tall. Meaning that many tall pillars would be needed, which is allegedly unprecedented. And yes, it would be very expensive, estimated to cost 120 billion British Pounds ($160 billion). It would be cheaper to move France closer. Yet, the British are fudging the numbers: there are longer and far cheaper bridges in areas with high levels of maritime traffic. The Jiaozhou Bay Bridge in China is listed as the world's longest bridge, at more than 25 miles. It took 4 years to build it and it cost almost 10 billion dollars. The Lake Pontchartrain Causeway in Louisiana, USA, is almost 24 miles long. And the Hangzhou Bay Bridge in China is considered the world's longest transoceanic bridge, at 22 miles.
As for cutting-edge technology, not only China and the US have it, but also Russia. And the Crimean Bridge is the latest, but not the only example. British engineers claim that it's better to build a cable bridge across the English Channel. Our country has an example of one in Vladivostok.
Valery Kruglov, head of Transport research institute: "Everything is possible to build if you have money and desire. We have a cable-stayed bridge across the Eastern Bosphorus Strait. Its span is 3,600 feet long. The pylons are 980-1,050 feet high, and the span is 3,600 feet long. It's the record-holder for cable-stayed bridges. It even outdoes the Chinese one. We have the longest span in the world".
If the British want to build a bridge across the Channel, they need to avoid the usual dawdling. Another large-scale project of connecting an island to the mainland via a bridge is being discussed in Russia, by which I mean Sakhalin.
- Alexey?
- Thanks. Vadim Zavodchenkov told us about a bridge across the English Channel.