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.

History

The concept of an overland connection crossing the Bering Strait goes back at least a century. William Gilpin, first governor of the Colorado Territory, envisioned a vast "Cosmopolitan Railway" in 1890 linking the entire world via a series of railways. Two years later Joseph Strauss, who went on to design over 400 bridges, put forward the first proposal for a Bering Strait railroad bridge in his senior thesis, said to have been massive but ludicrous. Strauss was, however, the chief designer of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Related Topics:
William Gilpin - Colorado Territory - Joseph Strauss - Golden Gate Bridge

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Interest was renewed in 1943 (but no serious proposals) with the completion of the Alaska Highway linking the remote territory of Alaska with the Continental United States. Ambitious Alaskans envisioned the highway continuing to link with Nome near the Bering Strait. In 1968 engineer T. Y. Lin made a feasibility study of a Bering Strait bridge and estimated a cost more than $4 billion. Like Gilpin, Lin envisioned the project as more than simply a bridge but as a symbol of international cooperation and unity. Lin also proposed, among other bridges, a second massive connection spanning the Strait of Gibraltar. During the Cold War, however, the concept met mostly with cool reception. Lin died in 2003. Several others have advocated a Bering Strait bridge including Russian railway engineer Anatoly Cherkasov soon after the end of the Cold War, and (controversial) Korean evangelist Sun Myung Moon as part of a proposed global rail-and-highway system.

Related Topics:
Alaska Highway - Continental United States - Nome - T. Y. Lin - Strait of Gibraltar - Cold War - Anatoly Cherkasov - Sun Myung Moon

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