Intercontinental and transoceanic fixed links
Permanent road/rail connections between continents
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A fixed link or fixed crossing is a permanent, unbroken road or rail connection across water that uses some combination of bridges, tunnels, and causeways and does not involve intermittent connections such as drawbridges or ferries.[1] A bridge–tunnel combination is commonly used for major fixed links.
This is a list of proposed and actual transport links between continents and to offshore islands. See also list of bridge–tunnels for another list of fixed links including links across rivers, bays and lakes.
History
Cosmopolitan Railway
In 1890 William Gilpin first proposed to connect all the continents by land via the Cosmopolitan Railway. Significant elements of that proposal, such as the English Channel Tunnel, have been constructed since that era. However, the improvement of the global shipping industry and advent of international air travel has reduced the demand for many intercontinental land connections.
Existing or under construction
Proposed
| Crossing | Termini | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|
| English Channel | England, United Kingdom | France | There have been proposals at various times for a second channel tunnel of some kind.[5] |
| Jersey | Manche, Normandy, France | In July 2009, the States of Jersey were considering the feasibility of building a 14-mile (23 km) tunnel between Jersey (a British Crown dependency) and France.[6][7][8] There was a revival of the idea in 2018[9] and 2021.[10] It was reported in the local media that a link between Jersey and the neighbouring island of Guernsey would cost £2.6 billion.[11] | |
| St George's Channel | Pembrokeshire, Wales, United Kingdom | County Wexford, Ireland | Various ferry services link Ireland to Britain and France. A number of options for an Irish Sea fixed crossing have been proposed over the years, but none are currently under serious consideration.[citation needed] Additionally, there was a short-lived proposal for an underground roundabout beneath the Isle of Man, connecting tunnels to Ireland, Scotland, and two to England.[12] Another proposal was for an additional route from Scotland to the Isle of Man.[13] |
| Irish Sea | Anglesey, Wales, United Kingdom | County Dublin, Ireland | |
| North Channel | Rhins of Galloway, Scotland, United Kingdom | County Down, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom | |
| Kintyre, Scotland, United Kingdom | County Antrim, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom | ||
| The Minch / Sea of the Hebrides | Highland, Scotland, United Kingdom | Outer Hebrides, Scotland, United Kingdom | [14] |
| Baltic Sea | Falster, Denmark | Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany | |
| Bornholm, Denmark | Skåne County, Sweden | ||
| Kvarken | Västerbotten County, Sweden | Ostrobothnia, Finland | |
| Gulf of Finland | Uusimaa, Finland | Harju County, Estonia | |
| Suur Strait | Muhu, Saare County, Estonia | Lääneranna Parish, Pärnu County, Estonia | Considered by the Estonian government between 2020 and 2023.[15] |
| Strait of Messina | Messina, Sicily, Italy | Reggio Calabria, Calabria, Italy | |
| Piombino Channel | Elba, Tuscany, Italy | Piombino, Tuscany, Italy | There is a project to link Elba with the Italian mainland across the Piombino Channel with a 16-kilometre (9.9 mi) road tunnel.[16] The feasibility project was launched by the Cacelli Partners Ltd of Riccardo Cacelli, in collaboration with the Adu London studio of the architect David Ulivagnoli.[17][18] |
| Palau, Sardinia, Italy | La Maddalena, Sardinia, Italy | [19][20] | |
| Strait of Bonifacio | Sardinia, Italy | Corsica, France | The has been interest from Hyperloop One in using Hyperloop to connect Sardinia and Corsica.[21][22] |
| Adriatic Sea | Marche, Italy | Zadar County, Croatia | The idea was presented by the Roman architect Giorgio De Romanis, and also called for the creation of a special company "Il ponte sull'Adriatico Srl". The bridge would be suspended above the sea at a height of 30–70 metres (98–230 ft), and would also allow the laying of pipes for water, oil and gas, as well as the accommodation of telecommunication cables.[23][24] The idea received the support of the ex-governor of the Marche, Gian Mario Spacca. Some sources considered the project as being more realistic than a bridge between Calabria and Sicily.[25] |
| Strait of Otranto | Vlorë County, Albania | Lecce, Apulia, Italy | |
| Boknafjord | Bokn Municipality, Norway | Stavanger, Norway | |
| Suðuroyarfjørður | Sandoy, Faroe Islands | Suðuroy, Faroe Islands | |
| Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland | Rangárþing eystra, Iceland | ||
| Mellieħa, Malta | Gozo, Malta | ||
| Strait of Gibraltar | Cádiz, Andalusia, Spain | Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceima, Morocco | |
| Strait of Sicily | Sicily, Italy | Tunisia | |
| Gulf of Aqaba | South Sinai Governorate, Egypt | Tabuk Province, Saudi Arabia |
A causeway faces considerable political hurdles as the disruption of Israeli shipping access to the Red Sea was seen as a casus belli by Israel ahead of the Six-Day War. There is a car ferry between Safaga, Egypt and Duba, Saudi Arabia. The two uninhabited islands in the strait (Tiran island and Sanafir island), which might be used for a bridge, tunnel or causeway, were disputed between Egypt and Saudi Arabia until President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi of Egypt officially ceded them to Saudi Arabia in 2016/2017.[26][27] The potential construction of a fixed link was cited in some media reports as contributing to the cession.[28][29] |
| Bab-el-Mandeb | Djibouti | Yemen | The Bridge of the Horns is a proposed construction project to build a bridge between the coasts of Djibouti and Yemen across the Bab-el-Mandeb, the strait between the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.[30] There are no ferry services on this route as of 2018. |
| Red Sea | Saudi Arabia | Eritrea | Saudi Arabia considers to develop a 440-kilometre (270 mi) tunnel across the Red Sea to link its industrial city of Jazan with Massawa's port in Eritrea. It had the support of Pakistan and the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative.[31][32] |
| Zanzibar Channel | Unguja, Zanzibar, Tanzania | Dar es Salaam / Pwani Region, Tanzania | |
| Palk Strait | Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu, India | Mannar District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka | |
| Malacca Strait | Johor, Malaysia | Riau, Indonesia |
The total length would be 39–40 kilometres (24–25 mi).[33][34] |
| Singapore Strait | Singapore | Riau Islands, Indonesia | |
| Sunda Strait | Lampung, Sumatra, Indonesia | Banten, Java, Indonesia | |
| Bali Strait | Bali, Indonesia | East Java, Java, Indonesia | |
| Qiongzhou Strait | Zhanjiang, Guangdong, China | Hainan, China | A road-rail bridge has been proposed.[36] |
| Bohai Strait | Yantai, Shandong, China | Dalian, Liaoning, China | |
| Taiwan Strait | Fujian, China | Taiwan | The Taiwan Strait Tunnel Project is a proposed undersea tunnel to connect Pingtan in the People's Republic of China to Hsinchu in northern Taiwan as part of the G3 Beijing–Taipei Expressway. First proposed in 1996,[37] the project has since been subject to a number of academic discussions and feasibility studies, including by the China Railway Engineering Corporation.[38] There exist cross strait ferries, both within outlying islands of Taiwan and between the PRC and Taiwan. The political status of Taiwan complicates any such proposal. |
| Yellow Sea | South Korea | Weihai, Shandong, China | The Korean government considered building underwater tunnels with China, the proposed route would be between Incheon and Weihai, being considerate to build an intermediary artificial island in the route of 341 kilometers. Other Korean cities, like Ongjin, Hwaseong and Pyeongtaek, are considered to be part of the routes to China.[39] Also, is part of the Chinese comprehensive development plan for the Bohai area.[40] |
| Jeju Strait | South Jeolla Province, South Korea | Jeju Province, South Korea | |
| Korea Strait | Japan | South Korea | |
| La Pérouse Strait | Hokkaido, Japan | Sakhalin, Russia | |
| Strait of Tartary / Nevelskoy Strait | Sakhalin, Russia | Khabarovsk Krai, Russia | |
| Hōyo Strait | Ōita, Ōita Prefecture, Japan | Ikata, Ehime Prefecture, Japan | Shikoku and Kyushu are the only adjacent major Japanese islands not directly connected by a fixed link. Road travel between the two is possible only via Honshu, a detour of up to 600 kilometres (370 mi).
Since 1995, the prefectures have been jointly conducting research into the technical feasibility of bridges over the strait and conducting basic research into natural and social conditions, and in 1998, in the "Hoyo Kaikyo Bridge Survey Report" it was concluded that the bridge would be technically feasible. The bridge proposed in the report uses a four-span suspension bridge with a central tower height of 376 metres (1,234 ft), central span length of 3,000 metres (9,800 ft), and bridge length of about 8,400 metres (27,600 ft) as the main bridge, connecting the Toyo Strait with two bridges, the extension would be about 12.7 kilometres (7.9 mi).[41] The total project cost is currently estimated to be about 1.3 trillion yen (US$12.1 billion). The Hoyo Kaikyo Route Promotion Council conducted a survey comparing various crossing technologies (bridges, tunnels) and modes of transportation (automobiles, railways) in 1997, and "Transportation method comparison study report" was published. According to the report, in the case of bridges, road bridges are technically possible, but due to the long span, it is difficult to use them as railway bridges and combined bridges.[42] |
| Gulf of Bahrain | Qatar | Bahrain | |
| Masirah Channel | Mahout, Al Wusta Governorate, Oman | Masirah Island, Ash Sharqiyah South Governorate, Oman | [43] |
| Bering Strait | Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Russia | Alaska, United States | |
| Torres Strait | Queensland, Australia | Western Province, Papua New Guinea | [44] |
| Cook Strait | Wellington Region, New Zealand | Marlborough District, New Zealand | [45] |
| Bass Strait | Victoria, Australia | Tasmania, Australia | In 2013, the Tasmanian government said that a tunnel "should not be discounted".[46][47] |
| Backstairs Passage | Kangaroo Island, South Australia, Australia | Cape Jervis, South Australia, Australia | [48] |
| Strait of Georgia | Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada | Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada | [49] |
| Washington, United States | |||
| Strait of Belle Isle | Newfoundland, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada | Labrador, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada | |
| Straits of Florida | Key West, Florida, United States | Cuba | [50][51] |
| Florida, United States | Bahamas | [52] | |
| Ceiba, Puerto Rico | Vieques, Puerto Rico | [53] | |
| Sangre Grande, Trinidad and Tobago | Tobago, Trinidad and Tobago | [54][55][56][57] | |
| Gulf of Paria | Trinidad, Trinidad and Tobago | Venezuela | [58] |
| Río de la Plata | Argentina | Uruguay | [59][60][61][62] |
| Atlantic Ocean | North America | Europe | |
Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea
Iran and Qatar (who will take most part of the project's financing) have plans for an underwater tunnel connecting the two countries, being planned to be the longest tunnel in the world (having 190 km).[63] It would link the Iranian port of Bandar-e Deyr to an unspecified location in Qatar across the Persian Gulf in both road and railway sections; however, a road tunnel is not considered very feasible due to the long distance. It had the support of Iran's Ports and Maritime Organisation managing director, Ali Akbar Safaei, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, who expect the creation of a joint Qatar-Iran committee with the Emir of Qatar, Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.[64][65][66][67][68] Also, it will create a straight and direct route between Saudi Arabia and Iran.[69]
Iran proposed to build an overpass bridge over the strait of Hormuz that will link Iran economically to GCC countries and Yemen through 39 km road link between Oman's Musandam exclave and southern Iran. The idea was having the support of Iranian Ambassador to Oman Ali Akbar Sibeveih.[70][71][72]
The Persian Gulf Bridge in Qeshm–Bandar Abbas (Iran) will be a 2.4 km (1.5 mi) long road-rail bridge, connecting Qeshm Island to mainland Iran, from the historic port of Laft to Pahal port in Bandar Abbas (Hormozgan Province). It was proposed to build an undersea tunnel instead of a bridge, but was rejected due to high costs.[73]
The Saudis were exploring two options to build a 400 km tunnel or bridge to link Gwadar (in Pakistan) with Muscat (in Oman) at the mouth of Strait of Hormuz at one end. The objective was to bypass its trade routes (including for oil supplies) with Iran and Qatar, because of the Iran–Saudi Arabia proxy conflict, also to extend the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative.[31][32]
A 1,200 miles (1,900 km) tunnel, carrying Maglev trains, is planned to connect India’s biggest city Mumbai and emirate Fujairah (United Arab Emirates) through the Arabian Sea in a high-speed railway line to transport passengers, tourists and workers in just 2 hours. It had the support of Abdullah Alshehhi, chief consultant of Abu Dhabi National Advisory Office (a Masdar City-based consultancy), and the Gulf Cooperation Council.[74][75][76] It is considered the longest submarine tunnel project in the world and will have a depth of 15,000 feet below the surface of the Indian Ocean.[77][78]
Also, Karachi (Pakistan) and Muscat (Oman) are also included future plans of train stations, making provision for a road to be constructed within the tunnel for cars and trucks as well as a floating hotel, shopping centres and fuel stations, featuring pipelines for oil and water. Expansion of the project might include the One Belt One Road Initiative, linking China to Pakistan economic corridor at Gwadar Port with UAE, through the Fujairah port to complement the Chinese silk road.[79]