Intercontinental Peace Bridge

The Intercontinental Peace Bridge is a proposed/envisioned bridge spanning the Bering Strait between Cape Dezhnev, Siberia, Russia, and Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska. The Bering Strait could be spanned by a series of three bridges via the Diomede Islands for a total distance of about 80 km (50 miles). Although the longest bridge of the three could be in excess of 40 km (25 miles) — compare to the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, comprised of two segments of 23.86 and 23.87 miles each — such a bridge would provide an overland connection linking Asia, Africa and Europe with North America and South America.

Challenges

Technical difficulties would be enormous, and there would be heavy opposition from environmentalists.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Technical challenges

The route would lie just south of the Arctic Circle, subject to long, dark winters and extreme weather (average winter lows -20°C with possible lows approaching -50°C. Winter maintenance would be difficult and closures frequent. Ice breakup after each winter is violent and would tear up normal bridge piers; specially shaped and truly massive piers along the ocean floor would be necessary to keep this bridge stable. Maintenance would be staggering. Furthermore, the bridge would require thousands of kilometers of new road and/or track over extremely harsh terrain through the wilderness of Alaska and Siberia. The nearest railhead is Fairbanks, Alaska on the east and Magadan, Russia on the west, terminal point of the Trans-Siberian Railroad. More, special trains would have to be built to run on both American standard gauge (4 feet, 8.5 inches wide) rails and Russian broad gauge (5 feet wide) ones. A dual-gauge track network has been proposed, as those are used in some areas of Australia, whose rail network is split into different gauges. New technologies may be expected to overcome this problem.

Related Topics:
Arctic Circle - Fairbanks - Magadan, Russia - Trans-Siberian Railroad - Standard gauge - Broad gauge - Dual-gauge - Australia

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Environmental opposition

There is steep interest both within Alaska and elsewhere in the US and Canada, as well as worldwide, to preserve as much as possible the near pristine conditions of the Alaskan wilderness — and similar consideration for Siberia. The Trans-Alaska Pipeline was widely feared to interrupt caribou migration routes, and some of those fears turn out to have been overstated -- but the question of oil and natural gas drilling on the Alaska North Slope is hotly controversial, dripping with vested interest. A modern highway and rail route over northern terrain may be less so than the pipeline, but overland transportation currently does not extend from Fairbanks to Nome and the Cape Prince of Wales, nor from Magadan to Cape Dezhnev. Moreover, not only would the requisite construction of vast tracks of overland rail and/or highway raise environmental considerations, but the bridge itself would cross a major whale migration route.

Related Topics:
Trans-Alaska Pipeline - Alaska North Slope

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~