Seikan Tunnel, Channel, and Bering Strait
While browsing for some information about the Caspian Sea, I find the oil pipeline system remarkable. The system would go for miles in order to reach their country or region of destination; they originate from areas near or within the Caspian Sea. Thinking about the pipelines made me think about tunnels and eventually about the ambitious tunnel projects that mankind has undertaken. Somewhere at the top of the list are the two longest undersea tunnels in the world: Seikan tunnel in Japan and Channel tunnel between Great Britain and France. Seikan tunnel is the longest and the deepest undersea tunnel in the world running for 53.85 km and 140 m below seabed and 240 m below sea level. It connects the Honshu and Hokkaido islands in Japan and allows train travel between the two islands. It crosses the Tsugaru Strait. Similarly, the Channel tunnel allows train travel between the island of Great Britain and continental Europe through France. It connects Folkestone, Kent in United Kingdom and Coquelles, Pas-de-Calais in France. It is 50.5 km long and 75 m deep at its lowest point. Seikan tunnel opened in 1988 (construction started in 1971) while Channel tunnel opened in 1994 (construction started in 1988).
Seikan Tunnel Location:
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Channel Tunnel Location:
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For a developing country like the Philippines, these projects are totally not feasible in the economic perspective. In fact, at first impression, one may find these projects unbelievable to exist in reality given the engineering challenges and the project cost. It costs $3.6 billion in 1980's prices to build the Seikan tunnel while it costs around £4.7 billion in 1985 prices to build the Channel tunnel. Huge projects indeed; however, many years from now, the records established by these tunnels will be surpassed by a proposed project in Bering Strait that was already given a go signal by the Russian government.
The proposed tunnel project in Bering Strait is estimated to cost up to $30 billion (according to interbering.com) while the railway constructions in Russia, US, and Canada leading to the tunnel are estimated to cost up to $70 billion. Think about spending for a connection by land going to North America or going to Asia - soon to be a link between two of the largest economies of the world and a major link between two of the biggest continents. The significance can be comparable to that of the Suez Canal or the Panama Canal. The tunnel will link Siberia in Russia and Alaska in the United States. The map below shows the locations. Of course, what goes together with the project are the engineering challenges, and perhaps a big challenge there is how they are going to deal with the seismic activities in the area. Let's just hope that it is not going to lead into any major disaster brought about by unforeseen factors and consequences.
The length of the tunnel will be around 103 km or 64 miles, and it may take up to 10-15 years to complete.
Bering Strait:
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A press release of the project is found here. Although additional figures can be found here. For Russia, creating a tunnel in the Bering Strait means more infrastructure projects such as railway systems in a relatively "infrastructure-deprived" Northern Siberia where the temperature can drop to as low as -50 degrees Celsius. Russia plans to extend rail lines to the northeastern part of Siberia, which is expected to be completed by 2030.
This project is not really new for it has a long history in its planning and proposal. It dates back in 1905 from the idea of Tsar Nicholas II.
