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Another Bridge

Discussion in 'General Chit Chat' started by KeithAngel, Sep 12, 2019.

  1. KeithAngel
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    KeithAngel 2063 Lifetime Member

    Boris Johnson revives plan for £15bn bridge from Scotland to Northern Ireland
    Boris Johnson has revived his plan to build a bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland - saying that it would be a “very good” idea and that it would cost £15bn.

    Speaking to children during his visit to lighthouse tender NLV Pharos on the Thames, Johnson said he had recently been discussing the possibility of constructing a bridge over the Irish Sea. He said:

    [I was talking yesterday] about building a bridge from Stranraer in Scotland to Larne in Northern Ireland – that would be very good. It would only cost about £15bn.

    Johnson originally floated this idea in an interview with the Sunday Times last year. At the time his proposal was considered fanciful, but this week Channel 4 News revealed that government officials have been asked to produce a paper on the costs and benefits of such a plan.

    The original Sunday Times story about Johnson’s proposal provoked a memorable letter to the paper from a retired offshore engineer who said the idea was “about as feasible as building a bridge to the moon”.

    https://www.theguardian.com/politic...ert-no-deal-dangers-in-yellowhammer-live-news
  2. bigmac
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    bigmac Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    cant even afford to build a bridge over to the isle of wight. we just have to pay through the nose--and other places--to use the ferries. most expensive per mile in the world.
    • Agree Agree x 1
  3. KeithAngel
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    KeithAngel 2063 Lifetime Member

    A personal unicorn with wings might do it:)

    I suppose it might be usefull when Ireland and Scotland become Indi:lol:
    • Agree Agree x 1
  4. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    Right across the North Channel and Beaufort's Dyke which is up to 300 metres deep and is fairly wide, a bridge spanning over 20 miles that would have to be tall enough not to obstruct shipping, over a trench that is a dump for chemical and conventional munitions and a small amount of Nuclear waste.

    The longest floating bridge on the planet is 2,350 metres for the pontoon portion, this proposal would be well over 30,000 metres or would have to be a combination of a conventional bridge with sunk foundations and pontoon bridge.

    They can't build a railway at a reasonable price what hope an untried totally out there bridge, plus the road infrastructure around Stranraer would have to be vastly improved to link into the rest of the UK road network.

    But hey it sounds like a great idea for England to build this so a later independent Scotland and reunified Ireland can reap the rewards :lol:

    edit: This would need oil rig tech as well as the pontoon tech and conventional road technology.
    • Winner Winner x 1
  5. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    Damn you got in too early, I had to do research before I could post :)
    • Funny Funny x 2
  6. KeithAngel
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    KeithAngel 2063 Lifetime Member

    I find research with the world kings ideas usualy returns hobby puppets with long noses:)
  7. Anon04576
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    Anon04576 Well-Known Member

    But this being about bridges opposed to world kings in General Chit Chat an all... :like:
  8. KeithAngel
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    KeithAngel 2063 Lifetime Member

    Its not the first bridge:)

    Transport for London has revealed that £53.5m was the total sum spent on the Garden Bridge project before it was scrapped.

    The Garden Bridge project was always conceived as a visitor attraction rather than transport infrastructure, unlike most bridges. The vision was a privately operated footbridge full of trees and shrubs across the River Thames between Temple and South Bank. It was cancelled in 2017 after costs escalated beyond £200m. Transport for London, them under the control of London mayor Boris Johnson, and the Department for Transport had each agreed to give the project £30m. The rest was to come from public fundraising

    https://www.theconstructionindex.co.uk/news/view/full-cost-of-london-garden-bridge-fiasco-revealed
  9. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    I should have read your link to the critical engineer first, I actually went and searched for the depth of the Irish Sea myself and worked out my points and then he makes the same ones :)

    Nothing is ever original :)
    • Agree Agree x 1
  10. KeithAngel
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    KeithAngel 2063 Lifetime Member

  11. John Stevens
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    John Stevens Active Member

    Been talked about for well over 100 years(probably longer) will never come about as it's just too hard to make it work and the cost will be astronomical the money would be better spent on renovating existing port infrastructure
  12. Jim
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    Jim Well-Known Member Trusted Member

    Finance the bridge out of the cash we will save when the UK exits the EU, 40 Billion Euros should cover it.
    • Agree Agree x 1
    • Disagree Disagree x 1
  13. walesrob
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    walesrob Administrator Staff Member

    The Hong Kong to Macau bridge is 34 miles long and is a combo of bridges, tunnels and reclaimed land.
    • Like Like x 3
  14. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    Yeah but the Zhujiang Estuary isn't 200 to 300 metres deep.
    • Agree Agree x 1
  15. Markham
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    Markham Guest

    If the shorter 12 mile route is chosen, it may be possible to bridge the trench using a hybrid pontoon system similar to that used in the construction of the Mulberry harbours off the Normandy coast (which my dad was in charge of constructing).
    • Agree Agree x 1
  16. walesrob
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    walesrob Administrator Staff Member

    I think Labour in Wales can top that for wasting £114 million on the M4 relief road project before scrapping it. This includes £44 million on the public inquiry.
  17. KeithAngel
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    KeithAngel 2063 Lifetime Member

    Ah divergence :) HS2 will almost certainly top that
  18. KeithAngel
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    KeithAngel 2063 Lifetime Member

    We could utilise all the RoRo Ferry,s that wont be as busy to creat a mobile bridge
    • Funny Funny x 1
  19. Markham
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    Markham Guest

    What??
  20. oss
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    oss Somewhere Staff Member

    What Argyll?

    Have you ever driven in Argyll the best road is on the west coast there is no easy route to get from the southernmost tip closest to Ireland either to Campbeltown or Macrihanish and even once you are on the coast road it's not exactly great then you have to deal with the Rest and be Thankful to get to Arrochar and the next choice is the Gare Loch which has a 1 in 3 gradient to escape it, or Tarbet and Loch Lomond which is also a difficult climb out of Arrochar.

    It would be economic madness trying to bridge that strait, it is still really deep and even if it could be done the weather is awful and on land connection to the rest of the UK is dreadful.
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