A bridge from Scotland to Northern Ireland ?
Discussion
Before anyone gets excited by the prospect of a new bridge to be built from SW Scotland to Northern Ireland, maybe they should think about the problems of building a high-class road linking the M6/M74 junctions near Carlisle, to the Scottish coast ?
How far, how expensive, and how costly ?
How far, how expensive, and how costly ?
Assuming they would go for portpatrick rather than campbeltown, the A75 doesn't look too bad, although I've not used it myself. Presumably it copes with the traffic from the Stranraer ferry, it could perhaps be upgraded and extended to portpatrick?
Campbeltown would be a nightmare, it's miles from anywhere and the geography is insane, it would be much harder to improve that road.
Stranraer also has a railway line that could possibly be extended and run on a bridge.
It does seem pointless though with the idea of a border in the Irish sea, it is alright if it's only ferries as it's a natural border, but a bridge would make a border much less practical.
I'd be amazed if it really only cost £20bn, that's an absolute bargain for what would be a world record!.
HS2 is just a few bits of track and is going to be over £100bn!
Campbeltown would be a nightmare, it's miles from anywhere and the geography is insane, it would be much harder to improve that road.
Stranraer also has a railway line that could possibly be extended and run on a bridge.
It does seem pointless though with the idea of a border in the Irish sea, it is alright if it's only ferries as it's a natural border, but a bridge would make a border much less practical.
I'd be amazed if it really only cost £20bn, that's an absolute bargain for what would be a world record!.
HS2 is just a few bits of track and is going to be over £100bn!
Hopefully they won't be doing too much piling in Beaufort's Dyke.
https://www2.gov.scot/uploads/documents/ae08beaufo...
SD.
https://www2.gov.scot/uploads/documents/ae08beaufo...
SD.
I've have thought as bridge reduces the transit time from 2hrs+ to 30mins there would be a decent amount of road haulage traffic that would shift over to a bridge larne / portpartick. Belfast > Liverpool ferries would also likely see a hit in traffic.The bridge would be faster for Scotland and North East England deliveries, equal for midlands deliveries.
What I can't see is how a road link wouldn't also need new or improved access links to both the NI and Scottish motorway networks, so sure £20bn for the bridge but what another £20bn for the required links? So a £40bn project.
What I can't see is how a road link wouldn't also need new or improved access links to both the NI and Scottish motorway networks, so sure £20bn for the bridge but what another £20bn for the required links? So a £40bn project.
PurpleTurtle said:
How far is it, as the crow flies? Does a bridge that long exist elsewhere?
Shortest points between Scotland and Northern Ireland is 12.95 miles.Longest bridge in the world is the Danyang–Kunshan Bridge at 102 miles.
The shortest bit between the two.
The next closest bit the land mass below which would be an easier place to get to before the bridge would be around 22 miles.
AAGR said:
Before anyone gets excited by the prospect of a new bridge to be built from SW Scotland to Northern Ireland, maybe they should think about the problems of building a high-class road linking the M6/M74 junctions near Carlisle, to the Scottish coast ?
How far, how expensive, and how costly ?
This has been discussed previously, I believe, but without wasting time looking up the previous PH post, I would simply ask ...How far, how expensive, and how costly ?
Why?
" the A75 doesn't look too bad, although I've not used it myself. "
I was a Doonhamer and used it a lot. It's a bloody nightmare. Not many overtaking places, lorries limited to 40 mph, goes through villages at 30 mph, log jams of lorries at ferry times and also mad "Tang" Irish drivers in elephant racing convoys. Needed dualing in the 80's never mind now.
Anyway, a bridge? Mad idea. Sort out the roads first. A1 anyone? A15, A47 e.t.c..
Edit for spooling.
I was a Doonhamer and used it a lot. It's a bloody nightmare. Not many overtaking places, lorries limited to 40 mph, goes through villages at 30 mph, log jams of lorries at ferry times and also mad "Tang" Irish drivers in elephant racing convoys. Needed dualing in the 80's never mind now.
Anyway, a bridge? Mad idea. Sort out the roads first. A1 anyone? A15, A47 e.t.c..
Edit for spooling.
FourWheelDrift said:
PurpleTurtle said:
How far is it, as the crow flies? Does a bridge that long exist elsewhere?
Shortest points between Scotland and Northern Ireland is 12.95 miles.Longest bridge in the world is the Danyang–Kunshan Bridge at 102 miles.
The shortest bit between the two.
The next closest bit the land mass below which would be an easier place to get to before the bridge would be around 22 miles.
loskie said:
You obviously have no idea what it's like getting to that point on Kintyre, for a time in the 90's there was a ferry from Ballycastle to Campbeltown. It was started ONLY due to EU funding, ran at a vast loss for a couple of years then failed. A totally impractical proposition both logistically and spoiling a beautiful part of sparsely populated UK.
I just gave the shortest points, you obviously didn't read the line at the bottom which would be the better solution but longer.Gassing Station | News, Politics & Economics | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff