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Bridge connecting Ireland and Britain that could change lives mooted [2013]
IrishCentral ^ | August 15,2013 | Staff Writers

Posted on 08/02/2014 11:17:33 AM PDT by SunkenCiv

The longest sea bridge in the world at 20.2 miles long is the Donghai bridge that links Shanghai to Yangshan in China.

A bridge from either Northern Ireland or the Republic of Ireland would have to be even longer than that.

In 2007, a 21-mile rail bridge was proposed between Galloway, Scotland, to Belfast, Northern Ireland. The idea would have trains running from Dublin, through Belfast, over the sea to Scotland, and then down railways into London...

"Four main routes have been proposed. Two run from Scotland to Northern Ireland - Campbeltown to County Antrim, or Stranraer to Belfast. Two run from Wales to the Republic, a northern and southern route, where the Welsh peninsula juts into the Irish Sea."

The northern route to Wales would stretch from Dublin to Holyhead, while the southern route extends from Rosslare to Fishguard.

Bill Grose, the former chairman of the British Tunneling Society, says that there are "two critical issues for siting the tunnel."

The first would be finding a location that maximizes the demand for transport across the sea and how well the location is served by existing infrastructure at either end of the connection.

The second would be the shortest distance across the sea. Between Dublin and Holyhead is roughly 50 miles of water, Waterford and Fishguard is 45, and Belfast to Stranraer is around 20 miles.

The route from Antrim to Campbeltown covers only 12 miles of sea, but because Campbeltown is in an isolated part of the country with little existing infrastructure, transport links would need to be established to cut through some mountainous terrain.

"Intuitively Holyhead to Dublin is a more preferable route than the others. It's closer to Manchester and Liverpool and connects straight into Dublin," says Grose.

(Excerpt) Read more at irishcentral.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Travel
KEYWORDS: backstop; belfast; brantheblessed; bridge; china; donghaibridge; dublin; europeanunion; fartyshadesofgreen; fishguard; galloway; giantscauseway; holyhead; ireland; mabinogeon; nato; northernireland; rosslare; scotland; scotlandyet; shanghai; stranraer; unitedkingdom; wales; yangshan
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21 posted on 08/02/2014 1:54:20 PM PDT by trisham (Zen is not easy. It takes effort to attain nothingness. And then what do you have? Bupkis.)
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To: yarddog

That’s good, because based on their name — he-brides — they must be part of the homosexual agenda!!! S/B the She-brides!!! ;’)


22 posted on 08/02/2014 1:56:12 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: Hugin

:’) Ordinarily the movement of freight over rail would be a good argument, but the entire thing is one big maritime economy, so it moves by water. A bridge for automotive traffic would be greatly preferred, as Britain also has a very large number of small towns, despite the generally higher population density than one finds here in the US.


23 posted on 08/02/2014 2:01:23 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: sinsofsolarempirefan

Those “well trained, committed Provisional IRA members” that you speak of are now “a well trained, committed criminal organization” now.


24 posted on 08/02/2014 2:56:52 PM PDT by GSP.FAN (Some days, it's not even worth chewing through the restraints.)
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To: SES1066; SunkenCiv

“According to legend, the columns are the remains of a causeway built by a giant...”

Ah, yes. I have been to the Causeway in Antrim many times. I lived in Northern Ireland for three years, ‘78-’81. I have an extraordinary depiction of it hanging on a wall here in my home.

Finn McCool also on one occasion ripped a huge piece of earth out of Northern Ireland and tossed it into the Irish Sea. Lough Neagh was the result in Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man was the result in the Irish Sea.

Later, after fighting with another giant, Ruscaire, Finn lay down on top of the smouldering volcano to sleep across Carlingford Louch. His head lay at the mountain top and his feet rested in the Lough. Such was his tiredness that he never awakened and as the years passed by, his great body turned to rock, and the outline of his body can be seen to this day. And, my friends I can attest to this, as I have seen the outline of his body there! :)


25 posted on 08/02/2014 3:38:00 PM PDT by GGpaX4DumpedTea (I am a Tea Party descendant...steeped in the Constitutional Republic given to us by the Founders)
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To: SunkenCiv

Just wondering, how deep is the water in these locations?


26 posted on 08/02/2014 3:38:57 PM PDT by Rumplemeyer (The GOP should stand its ground - and fix Bayonets)
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To: GSP.FAN

So not much different really


27 posted on 08/02/2014 3:53:30 PM PDT by wardaddy (we will not take back our way of life through peaceful means.....i have 5 kids....i fear for them)
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To: SunkenCiv

What’s max water depth?

That and sea conditions matter more than length...concrete bridge spans like Ponchatrain or Seven Mile are not pricey


28 posted on 08/02/2014 3:55:50 PM PDT by wardaddy (we will not take back our way of life through peaceful means.....i have 5 kids....i fear for them)
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To: SunkenCiv

Dublin To Anywhere might be a good name for a rock band


29 posted on 08/02/2014 3:56:29 PM PDT by GeronL (Vote for Conservatives not for Republicans)
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To: SunkenCiv

The sea, O the sea, a gradh gheal mo chroidhe.
Oh long may you roll between England and me,
God help the poor Scotsmen - they’ll never be free
But we’re entirely surrounded by Water!

—Brendan Behan


30 posted on 08/02/2014 3:57:38 PM PDT by RichInOC (No! BAD Rich! (What'd I say?))
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To: wardaddy

Not much but they have expanded into drugs,prostitution and drugs.
The original criminal gangs in Dublin could not compete with a military trained gang.


31 posted on 08/02/2014 3:58:35 PM PDT by GSP.FAN (Some days, it's not even worth chewing through the restraints.)
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To: GeronL

“Dublin Down” as well.


32 posted on 08/02/2014 4:01:30 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: RichInOC

:’) Yeah, really — Ireland was invaded and large parts controlled for over two centuries by freelance Vikings, then Cavanaugh invited in the Normans in the 11th century, and the British stayed to the present day (in the outside six), not even a thousand years. ;’)


33 posted on 08/02/2014 4:12:18 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: GGpaX4DumpedTea

:’) Thanks!

John Renbourn & Robin Williamson - Finn And The Old Man’s House
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xiqeyy_john-renbourn-robin-williamson-finn-and-the-old-man-s-house_music


34 posted on 08/02/2014 4:14:48 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: Rumplemeyer

The drop from the mainland to the Ireland end of the Causeway (which formed after the end of the Cretaceous) appears to be pretty steep (those who have seen it and are in this thread can better tell us) and the Causeway doesn’t go all that far above the water. It then plunges and (if a faint old memory serves) curves more or less, and gets lost under perhaps millions of years of sedimentation. I couldn’t find anything about the identification of the formation having been identified anywhere at depth. Suffice to say, the deepest part of that strait is probably in the area of 1000+ feet.

> The old name for the Giant’s Causeway was clachanafomhaire roughly translated as ‘the stepping stones for the Fomorians’.

http://www.doeni.gov.uk/niea/protected_areas_home/aonb/aonb_causeway/aonb_causeway_giants.htm


35 posted on 08/02/2014 4:26:28 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: wardaddy

Probably part of the distance on each end could be done that way, with at least one long suspension section over the deeper bits.


36 posted on 08/02/2014 4:27:26 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: SunkenCiv

Very cool..! Thanks for that..!


37 posted on 08/02/2014 4:48:11 PM PDT by unread (Rescind the 17th. Amendment...bring the power BACK to the states...!)
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To: SunkenCiv

Forget it, he was rolling.


38 posted on 08/02/2014 5:13:35 PM PDT by RichInOC (No! BAD Rich! (What'd I say?))
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To: SunkenCiv

I think a tunnel would make more sense than a bridge here, and I think I just might live to see this happen. Who but a small minority thought the Channel tunnel would become a reality? But I expect it’s more likely to be to Dublin than to Belfast.


39 posted on 08/02/2014 8:51:04 PM PDT by OldNewYork
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To: SunkenCiv

Tonight’s episode of ‘What If . . .’, “What if Strongbow had a bridge?”


40 posted on 08/02/2014 8:56:05 PM PDT by Oratam
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