Ever wondered what it would be like to travel from Asia to North America overland? With the proposed construction of the Bering Strait Tunnel it may become possible within the next 20 years or so to travel from Asia to North America without being on a plane.
At the moment, constructions have not gone ahead although Russia has approved of the project which is estimated to cost around £60 billion which would probably be close to $100 billion in Australian dollars or maybe even more perhaps. However, some sources say that the construction of the tunnel is actually £99 billion pounds. If the tunnel ever begins construction, we will probably find out the true cost then.
If the construction of the tunnel goes ahead as planned, the tunnel is expected to pass underneath places such as the Big and Little Diomede islands. The distance between the far Easternmost of Russia and the Westernmost point of Alaska are closer than what most of us think. It is around 100km or so.
In addition to being able to travel without going on a plane from Russia to the U.S, it will also improve freight services from Asia to North America as well as improving renewable energy transmission between the two continents.
As for tourists, this will create more options for travelling from Europe to New York. If any of you have read the book "Long Way Round", you would have noticed that Ewan and Charley tried to travel from London to New York without resorting to air travel but they still had to take the plane from Magadan to Alaska.
Will this tunnel ever become a reality? Only time will tell.
Here is a map of where the tunnel may be constructed:
(Courtesy of the Daily Mail)
To make the view larger (Ctrl and +)
References:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/article-2028891/East-West-rail-link-step-closer-Russia-approves-60bn-Bering-Strait-tunnel.html
http://www.theblaze.com/stories/bering-strait-tunnel-to-connect-u-s-and-russia/
That is all for now. Hope you enjoyed reading this.
Laura xx
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