We should build a suspension bridge linking North America and Europe

01/14/04 | Destro

[Destro]

We should build a suspension bridge linking North America and Europe

As we ponder going to the Moon again and to Mars, I started to think of projects we Americans can do that can better our lives and the planet.

I propose a suspension bridge be built starting from St. John's in Newfoundland, Canada terminating in Galway, Ireland with a connecting bridge from Belfast to Scotland and on into Europe. This Atlantic Euro-bridge would have two levels of 8 lanes per level and would be able to accommodate freight trucks, passenger vehicles and possibly a freight and passenger train.

The bridge would pay for itself over time via a toll fee.

The airline industry and the ocean freight industry may not like this mover of people and goods but it would be a boon to mankind and to commerce.

It would also help the economically depressed areas of New Foundland, Ireland and Scotland.

[Destro]

I doubt they could afford the toll fee.

[xJones]

Does anybody realize how rediculously far a drive that would be. There is a reason this hasn't ever been brought up before.

That does present an obstacle, but we've advanced to elevators to the moon. Get with the thread, Fred. :)

[Destro]

PS: If I could I would smuggle a few million Europeans and settle them at the border.

[thoughtomator]

All it would take is one jihadist to turn your trillion-dollar bridge into the least-travelled road on earth.

[manfromlamancha]

They're actually going to do it from Alaska to Russia, via the Bering Strait.

[LittleRedRooster]

Didn't Kennedy already pay for this with the Big Dig, and besides would it take more than an afternoon drive to get to Europe, hope I don't have to stay in a Hotel/motel/holiday inn and sleep in a bed that isn't mine with people in other rooms that I don't know....

[John H K]

http://dsc.discovery.com/convergence/engineering/transatlantictunnel/interactive/interactive.html

"A magnetically levitated train could theoretically take you from New York to London in 54 minutes. But you'd have to go 5,000 mph through a 3,100 mile long tunnel that was itself floating in the Atlantic Ocean. How might that work?"

[auboy]

Can we name it The William Jefferson Clinton Legacy Bridge To The 21st Century?

BTW, I'll demand a recount if there's not at least two Cracker Barrels.

[xJones]

They're actually going to do it from Alaska to Russia, via the Bering Strait.

It would be cheaper to hold another Ice Age and there would be a natural land bridge. Of course, the last time that happened the Chinese invaded, or so they say, and do we really want that again?

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

The bridge would pay for itself over time via a toll fee.

Don't let the Massachusetts politicians run the toll collection. They can make a bargain to be toll free in 30 years but collect forever.

[Kevin Curry]

Don't forget to account for continental drift. The distance between Europe and North America increases about 4 inches per year.

[Pan_Yans Wife]

PETA is going to have a fit about the miles and miles of displaced sealife.

[Khurkris]

Icebergs. Gas stations. Bathrooms. Beer. Car troubles. Accidents. Injuries/Health problems. Beer. Some Euro's drive on the other side of the road. Beer.

The shortest route would be off of the NE shoulder of South America. But that road would only lead to trouble.

[RadioAstronomer]

LOL! See my post #37. :-)

[Indy Pendance]

Ever drive this one in winter? No thanks on the Atlantic idea.

Mackinac Bridge

The Mackinac Bridge connects the upper and lower peninsulas of Michigan over the five mile wide Straits of Mackinac where Lake Michigan and Lake Huron meet. The Mackinac Bridge's towers are 552 feet above the water and it has a center span of 3,800 feet. Designed by David B. Steinman it was completed in 1957.

[John H K]

As I've noted engineers have actually toyed with the problem and a bridge is right out.

It would be a deeply-moored floating tunnel with a vacuum inside the tunnel with a hypersonic train that goes through it.

[xJones]

Don't forget to account for continental drift. The distance between Europe and North America increases about 4 inches per year.

There is hope in everything. Northern California is heading toward the Alaskan subduction zone (how appropriate!) and in a scant 20 million years or so we won't have to worry about those congressional districts any longer.

[Khurkris]

"You might what?"

He's an economist. Thats as clear as they get.