Boris Johnson dreams of a network of tunnels in the Irish Sea

According to the Sunday Times, US-born Alexander Boris de Pfel Johnson has a dream, how about a handful of submarine tunnels in the Irish Sea that unite the United Kingdom? At first glance it looks interesting and visionary. But the prime minister’s idea of ​​an Irish sea tunnel is not new. As early as the end of the nineteenth century, ideas of marine tunnels were increasing, for example for trains between Galway and Northern Ireland – a distance of at least 35 kilometers.

However, new to Boris Johnson’s mind game is the fact that he imagines a roundabout (as it was last opened in the Faroe Islands) below the Isle of Man as the center of the tunnel network. The island, which has a population of 572 square meters and a population of 85,000, has so far been famous for two things: the Isle of Man TT motorcycle race and three members of the BJ’s music group, who were born in Douglas (the largest city of 25,000): Barrie Robin and Maurice Gibb. Oh yeah: and the fact that there are no speed limits on many roads.

No speed limit across the rotor

The latter raises at least two important questions: “Where does unlimited leadership apply?” And does this also apply to tunnels? With the exception of the roundabout, where physics dictates the speed limit in case of doubt, crossings can be reduced by a few minutes and air traffic or ferries can almost completely stop. Until now, the Isle of Man (as the Isle of Man called themselves) had to use these exact means of transportation either to travel to Scotland, England (48 km), Northern Ireland (52 km), Wales (71 km) or to travel to the Republic. Ireland, 85 kilometers away.

Thanks to the latest tunnel boring machines, not even the great distances or the deep location of the tunnels (which have to run under the seabed, up to 300 meters deep) are not the determining factors. Regardless of the financial outlay, which is currently unlikely to match the plan of a country that is currently struggling with a self-imposed fate called Brexit and is in the middle of a pandemic. The limiting factor in this project could be much older. Because during World War II a huge munitions dump accumulated in the Irish Sea. We are talking about 1.5 million tons. And even if the tunnels were to run beneath the sea floor, even some 80 years after the war, the slightest tremors could cause massive underwater fireworks. Preconditions are not good for realizing the dream of the prime minister.

A questionnaire

I consider the dream possible and desirable.

Total nonsense.

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conclusion

Prime Minister Boris Johnson dreams of a network of tunnels between member states in the United Kingdom. The center of the network is said to be an underground roundabout below the Isle of Man. It is currently unlikely that the British people, suffering from Brexit and the pandemic, will accept such financial dreams.