Boris Bridge across channel

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Discussion

MXRod

Original Poster:

2,731 posts

146 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
Just been on news
Boris is proposing a bridge across the English Channel
Seriously ?
The first storm or high winds , a super carrier or tanker out of control ,
And of course who pays , EEU wont after we leave . Non starter , bit of grandstanding by Boris again

motco

15,919 posts

245 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
He's just reinforcing the common view that he's barking...

powerstroke

10,283 posts

159 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
Would he use his NHS £350 m bus money to pay for it ???

Ziplobb

1,350 posts

283 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
He has been talking to Carl Feeney

Too Drunk to Funk

804 posts

76 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
He really is mentally impaired isn’t he.

It’s ironic as one of the first things he did as London Mayor was cancel plans for the very much needed Thames Gateway Bridge in East London.

Gargamel

14,958 posts

260 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
MXRod said:
Just been on news
Boris is proposing a bridge across the English Channel
Seriously ?
The first storm or high winds , a super carrier or tanker out of control ,
And of course who pays , EEU wont after we leave . Non starter , bit of grandstanding by Boris again
Are there are no bridges anywhere in the world that stay up in stormy seas or a bit of wind ?

Should have built a bridge in stead of a tunnel in the first place.

Crack on and get it built.

Also Boris is right about the airport thing too..

JagLover

42,268 posts

234 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
Gargamel said:
Also Boris is right about the airport thing too..
I suspected then checked, location London.

The Boris airport would only really suit most in London. For anyone else in the country it would mean going all the way around London in order to get to it.



wc98

10,334 posts

139 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
considering we don't seem to be able to maintain the roads we already have given the amount of fking potholes everywhere , building another stretch of road that requires maintaining ,be it on a bridge or elsewhere ,would appear to be a bit stupid.

Plymo

1,149 posts

88 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
Just had a quick Google so it might not be completely accurate, but the Chinese have built a bridge 30 miles or so long over sea, so it probably could be done.

What would concern me would be the ships, they have a habit of colliding or running aground so having something else for them to run into would not be good! It's a very busy shipping lane

Gameface

16,565 posts

76 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
MXRod said:
Just been on news

The first storm or high winds , a super carrier or tanker out of control.
It won't happen but not because of the reason above.

Theres plenty of long bridges in typoon hot spots and tropical storm areas.

Gary29

4,131 posts

98 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
Will make things a lot easier for all the prospective UK residents queueing up in Calais though, go for it I say.

menousername

2,107 posts

141 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
Imagine the support network needed. You couldnt just have a bridge taking you and your family out that far with no plan B.

Emergency services would need to be posted half way to be available quickly. Probably road-based and sea-based.

Huge customs and immigration infrastructure at both ends.

Not to mention the already struggling road links in the south east.

Then the tolls / cost to use.

Crazy




anonymous-user

53 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
Gary29 said:
Will make things a lot easier for all the prospective UK residents queueing up in Calais though, go for it I say.
I was thinking maybe build the bridge half way from the UK and put a roundabout at the end.



triggerhappy21

276 posts

129 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
MXRod said:
Just been on news
The first storm or high winds , a super carrier or tanker out of control ,
And of course who pays , EEU wont after we leave . Non starter , bit of grandstanding by Boris again
I'm guessing you're not a civil engineer... People have been building 20mile+ bridges over busy, stormy shipping lanes for a long time. Don't remember many getting blown over or rammed over by ships!

I like the thought of Britain starting large infrastructure projects like this, they can benefit societies for many, many years to come. Any financial outlay would be recouped over X years, and beyond that would provide a great benefit. Imagine the value to be gained from an unbroken road network between Britain & mainland Europe!

Unfortunately public opinion seems to lean towards that of the OP, who fails to see anything beyond the initial cost.

Sad really.

Too Drunk to Funk

804 posts

76 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
Gameface said:
MXRod said:
Just been on news

The first storm or high winds , a super carrier or tanker out of control.
It won't happen but not because of the reason above.

Theres plenty of long bridges in typoon hot spots and tropical storm areas.
It won't happen full stop.

jjlynn27

7,935 posts

108 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
So much missing the point here.

Boris doing the same thing that he always does. He wants his mug in the papers.



Anything to achieve that.

MXRod

Original Poster:

2,731 posts

146 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
triggerhappy21 said:
MXRod said:
Just been on news
The first storm or high winds , a super carrier or tanker out of control ,
And of course who pays , EEU wont after we leave . Non starter , bit of grandstanding by Boris again
I'm guessing you're not a civil engineer... People have been building 20mile+ bridges over busy, stormy shipping lanes for a long time. Don't remember many getting blown over or rammed over by ships!

I like the thought of Britain starting large infrastructure projects like this, they can benefit societies for many, many years to come. Any financial outlay would be recouped over X years, and beyond that would provide a great benefit. Imagine the value to be gained from an unbroken road network between Britain & mainland Europe!

Unfortunately public opinion seems to lean towards that of the OP, who fails to see anything beyond the initial cost.

Sad really.
No I am not a civil engineer ( but I can be civil , and not condescending with put downs )
Nowhere did I say the project would be impossible , perhaps clumsily, impracticable.
The channel is one of the busiest seaways in the world ,so I believe my fears are justified regarding collisions , the cost , well when we can’t even fully support the needs of the population , who is going to bankroll it ,
People are unable to drive a few miles on land based motorways without falling into each other . how do you police driving . to stop tailgating endless lane changing etc ,assuming it would be more than a single lane dual carriageway
And I presume somewhere in the middle will be a crossover , like a railway , to change from driving on one side of the road to the other .

TooMany2cvs

29,008 posts

125 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
Ghibli said:
I was thinking maybe build the bridge half way from the UK and put a roundabout at the end.
It's called a "pier"...
MXRod said:
Nowhere did I say the project would be impossible , perhaps clumsily, impracticable.
The channel is one of the busiest seaways in the world ,so I believe my fears are justified regarding collisions , the cost , well when we can’t even fully support the needs of the population , who is going to bankroll it ,
People are unable to drive a few miles on land based motorways without falling into each other . how do you police driving . to stop tailgating endless lane changing etc ,assuming it would be more than a single lane dual carriageway
And I presume somewhere in the middle will be a crossover , like a railway , to change from driving on one side of the road to the other .
They were interviewing a couple of civil engineering experts on R4 Today earlier. The consensus was "eminently possible, stretch of tunnel to allow shipping, lots of small 800m-1km spans, massively expensive, not going to happen in the next few decades".

The justification, it seems, is along the lines of "some people don't like going through tunnels". Umm, but if some of this is tunnel...?

God knows what the toll'd be. Øresund/Öresund is probably the nearest current equivalent, and that's "only" 8km bridge + 4km tunnel, with a €54 one-way toll...

Edited by TooMany2cvs on Friday 19th January 08:53

andymadmak

14,489 posts

269 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
triggerhappy21 said:
MXRod said:
Just been on news
The first storm or high winds , a super carrier or tanker out of control ,
And of course who pays , EEU wont after we leave . Non starter , bit of grandstanding by Boris again
I'm guessing you're not a civil engineer... People have been building 20mile+ bridges over busy, stormy shipping lanes for a long time. Don't remember many getting blown over or rammed over by ships!

I like the thought of Britain starting large infrastructure projects like this, they can benefit societies for many, many years to come. Any financial outlay would be recouped over X years, and beyond that would provide a great benefit. Imagine the value to be gained from an unbroken road network between Britain & mainland Europe!

Unfortunately public opinion seems to lean towards that of the OP, who fails to see anything beyond the initial cost.

Sad really.
This

It's well within engineering capabilities to make this happen. It was discussed on R4 this morning, with the introduction piece making it smugly clear that Boris was taking a shoeing on Social Media for proposing such a stupid thing - then the two senior engineer bridge experts that they interviewed said that not only was it entirely possible, that it had been done elsewhere, that there are feasible solutions to the sea lane traffic issues (two islands interconnecting tunnel) , and that also it was a highly desirable project.

Will it happen? Probably not in my lifetime. Never if the soshul meeeja experts are to be believed.

Sad

Willy Nilly

12,511 posts

166 months

Friday 19th January 2018
quotequote all
Get it built.