Boris Bridge across channel
Discussion
rs1952 said:
Since MXRod started this thread this morning there have been 150+ posts, many raising valid engineering points; many raising practical points over whether or not it is needed, how much it would cost, and/or what else could be done with that sort of money. But very few are looking at the story behind the story. Valiant quoted above is one of the exceptions
The story behind the story is Boris Johnson. This is all about Mop Head getting his name in the papers again, and yet again the media and PH correspondents are falling for it hook line and sinker.
I did finish my opening post thus "bit of grandstanding by Boris again "The story behind the story is Boris Johnson. This is all about Mop Head getting his name in the papers again, and yet again the media and PH correspondents are falling for it hook line and sinker.
And it played directly into JO'Bs hands on LBC this morning , he was like the cat that got the cream . and spent another tedious hour
on his favorite subject ( apart from himself that is )
mx5nut said:
Many have become very inward looking in recent years, trying to cut themselves off from an increasingly outward looking world.
Scared to try new things - and trying instead to recapture the country's rose tinted "glory years".
Talking to youngsters today gives me hope for the future.
They don't seem to suffer from the same affliction.
You are not right in the head fella.Scared to try new things - and trying instead to recapture the country's rose tinted "glory years".
Talking to youngsters today gives me hope for the future.
They don't seem to suffer from the same affliction.
mx5nut said:
Sway said:
I wonder where we will be in a century, with our current outlook of gloom.
Many have become very inward looking in recent years, trying to cut themselves off from an increasingly outward looking world.Scared to try new things - and trying instead to recapture the country's rose tinted "glory years".
Talking to youngsters today gives me hope for the future.
They don't seem to suffer from the same affliction.
Sway said:
It really is depressing to see the shift in mindset in this country.
We used to demonstrate to the world what could be done with civil engineering.
We still export a staggering amount of the best civil engineers in the world to the nations that do have the optimism to still do stuff like this.
Now, we're watching and helping nations across the globe further the civil environment with efficient, high capacity roads, bridges and tunnels. Raising islands to stick noisy, smelly planes out of the way - conveniently. Replacing multitudes of ferries with linked road and bridge networks across archipelagos, improving the lives and economies of the areas involved.
And coming up with every single reason why we shouldn't be doing anything of the sort.
I think it's because we have become supposedly more fair and equal societies, with many constraints such as human rights, budgets, whinging voters, political correctness and inefficient and incompetent political systems complete with corrupt politicians. What good is being a dreamer when you know your ideas will never be allowed.We used to demonstrate to the world what could be done with civil engineering.
We still export a staggering amount of the best civil engineers in the world to the nations that do have the optimism to still do stuff like this.
Now, we're watching and helping nations across the globe further the civil environment with efficient, high capacity roads, bridges and tunnels. Raising islands to stick noisy, smelly planes out of the way - conveniently. Replacing multitudes of ferries with linked road and bridge networks across archipelagos, improving the lives and economies of the areas involved.
And coming up with every single reason why we shouldn't be doing anything of the sort.
Places like Dubai, Singapore, China and Africa are not constrained with a lot of this nonsense.
But personally I think the bridge is an idiotic idea, it will get hit by large ships quite often, which could mean environmental disasters and possibly great loss of life. The maintenance costs will be immense, as will enforcement to keep the illegal migrants out.
If we are talking big infrastructure then how about a new international airport to replace LHR.
Edited by TheGuru on Friday 19th January 21:33
The issue with things like this is simple
We can't afford it.
What real benefit would it give us, crossing and rail crossings are already quick enough surely.
And what are the security risks for illegal immigrants and the already almost daily instances of people cramming themselves into lorries and hijacking drivers with money or violence.
I think this is a massive cash rich idea designed to appease the French and Europe, it is a non starter.
we already have a good enough and sound link thanks. that is enough.
We can't afford it.
What real benefit would it give us, crossing and rail crossings are already quick enough surely.
And what are the security risks for illegal immigrants and the already almost daily instances of people cramming themselves into lorries and hijacking drivers with money or violence.
I think this is a massive cash rich idea designed to appease the French and Europe, it is a non starter.
we already have a good enough and sound link thanks. that is enough.
chunder27 said:
The issue with things like this is simple
We can't afford it.
What real benefit would it give us, crossing and rail crossings are already quick enough surely.
And what are the security risks for illegal immigrants and the already almost daily instances of people cramming themselves into lorries and hijacking drivers with money or violence.
I think this is a massive cash rich idea designed to appease the French and Europe, it is a non starter.
we already have a good enough and sound link thanks. that is enough.
The issues with things like these is that you fell for it We can't afford it.
What real benefit would it give us, crossing and rail crossings are already quick enough surely.
And what are the security risks for illegal immigrants and the already almost daily instances of people cramming themselves into lorries and hijacking drivers with money or violence.
I think this is a massive cash rich idea designed to appease the French and Europe, it is a non starter.
we already have a good enough and sound link thanks. that is enough.
TheGuru said:
I think it's because we have become supposedly more fair and equal societies, with many constraints such as human rights, budgets, whinging voters, political correctness and inefficient and incompetent political systems complete with corrupt politicians. What good is being a dreamer when you know your ideas will never be allowed.
Places like Dubai, Singapore, China and Africa are not constrained with a lot of this nonsense.
But personally I think the bridge is an idiotic idea, it will get hit by large ships quite often, which could mean environmental disasters and possibly great loss of life. The maintenance costs will be immense, as will enforcement to keep the illegal migrants out.
If we are talking big infrastructure then how about a new international airport to replace LHR.
Why go to the expense of replacing Heathrow? Places like Dubai, Singapore, China and Africa are not constrained with a lot of this nonsense.
But personally I think the bridge is an idiotic idea, it will get hit by large ships quite often, which could mean environmental disasters and possibly great loss of life. The maintenance costs will be immense, as will enforcement to keep the illegal migrants out.
If we are talking big infrastructure then how about a new international airport to replace LHR.
Edited by TheGuru on Friday 19th January 21:33
Just crack on and build the third runway and whilst we are at build another one at Gatwick too.
Bit of history 
"In 1802, French mining engineer Albert Mathieu-Favier put forward the first ever design for a cross-Channel fixed link based on the principle of a bored two-level tunnel: the top one, paved and lit by oil lamps, to be used by horse-drawn stagecoaches; the bottom one would be used for groundwater flows."
https://www.getlinkgroup.com/uk/the-channel-tunnel...
"In 1802, French mining engineer Albert Mathieu-Favier put forward the first ever design for a cross-Channel fixed link based on the principle of a bored two-level tunnel: the top one, paved and lit by oil lamps, to be used by horse-drawn stagecoaches; the bottom one would be used for groundwater flows."
https://www.getlinkgroup.com/uk/the-channel-tunnel...
Sway said:
Exactly. Broke, but only arguing about how much cash we can give to people and service provision.
Hardly anyone is asking for true investment, that might actually be useful in the future. Throw in Skylon (as mentioned on this thread), thorium salt reactor research, stupidly quick broadband across the country, and a tonne of other stuff. Instead we f
k about with a fairly humdrum railine a couple of hundred miles long like it's armageddon.
Some of it could even be cool, just because. Have this as a bridge/tunnel/bridge, with the entrance islands respectively a cockerell and a huge union flag visible from space. Have the terminus/crossover point look suspiciously like a longbow firing an arrow between the nations. st like that - just to have people talking about us.
I, like many on here, decry Dubai as an utter sthole. However it is to the modern world what London and Paris was a century ago - a place of wonders that people dream of visiting, and potentially living and working. I wonder where we will be in a century, with our current outlook of gloom.
Dubai is a pretty poor example. In 100yrs most of that place will have been reclaimed by the desert as the expats flee en masse when the money dries up. Hardly anyone is asking for true investment, that might actually be useful in the future. Throw in Skylon (as mentioned on this thread), thorium salt reactor research, stupidly quick broadband across the country, and a tonne of other stuff. Instead we f
k about with a fairly humdrum railine a couple of hundred miles long like it's armageddon.Some of it could even be cool, just because. Have this as a bridge/tunnel/bridge, with the entrance islands respectively a cockerell and a huge union flag visible from space. Have the terminus/crossover point look suspiciously like a longbow firing an arrow between the nations. s
t like that - just to have people talking about us. I, like many on here, decry Dubai as an utter s
thole. However it is to the modern world what London and Paris was a century ago - a place of wonders that people dream of visiting, and potentially living and working. I wonder where we will be in a century, with our current outlook of gloom. valiant said:
Jockman said:
valiant said:
But it won't happen though, will it? Boris is doing what he did when he was mayor - make grand announcements first to get headlines and quietly drop it later when it proves to be not feasible.
Boris is looking for a legacy, not being happy with 'Boris Bikes'.
We're a strange nation aren't we.
We spend half our time moaning that nobody ever suggests anything radical and we never do anything different but when someone does suggest something radical we knock them down as "absurd" and we don't need it because "things are fine the way they are".
We spend half our time moaning that nobody ever suggests anything radical and we never do anything different but when someone does suggest something radical we knock them down as "absurd" and we don't need it because "things are fine the way they are".
I think that Boris is thinking on the long term, the Canadians have given him an idea and he wants to go for it. 
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brex...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brex...
alfie2244 said:
mx5nut said:
Many have become very inward looking in recent years, trying to cut themselves off from an increasingly outward looking world.
Scared to try new things - and trying instead to recapture the country's rose tinted "glory years".
Talking to youngsters today gives me hope for the future.
They don't seem to suffer from the same affliction.
You are not right in the head fella.Scared to try new things - and trying instead to recapture the country's rose tinted "glory years".
Talking to youngsters today gives me hope for the future.
They don't seem to suffer from the same affliction.
The Dangerous Elk said:
klootzak said:
Shame that would be hampered by politics that sets out to obstruct such transit.
k
Can you show me the plans to prevent movement of entitled persons please ?k
Edited by ATG on Saturday 20th January 10:47
bhstewie said:
hstewie said: We're a strange nation aren't we.
We spend half our time moaning that nobody ever suggests anything radical and we never do anything different but when someone does suggest something radical we knock them down as "absurd" and we don't need it because "things are fine the way they are".
Why does anyone even think we need this pointless bridge? How often do the people saying it's a great idea actually travel between Dover and Calais? Another tunnel would be far cheaper than any new bridge. Need I go on.We spend half our time moaning that nobody ever suggests anything radical and we never do anything different but when someone does suggest something radical we knock them down as "absurd" and we don't need it because "things are fine the way they are".
It isn't as thought there are currently no other ways of getting between England and France.
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