Creating large tunnel projects is an involved process involving dedicated machines, complex conveyor belts and considerable maintenance, something even more vital when such a project has never been done before.
Such was the case with the Channel Tunnel. Whilst the Seikan Tunnel in Japan is longer overall, the Channel Tunnel still has the longest section of tunnel that is underwater, which adds a whole host of logistical challenges.
Plans to create a tunnel between England and France existed as early as 1802, two years before the first ever working steam locomotive was made and six decades before the London Underground proved underground wail was possible.
It would take 202 years before it would finally be completed, becoming a critical part of the UK’s transport infrastructure in the process through its railway links to the continent. However, it was never meant to be the only tunnel connecting England and France.
Early in the project, then-Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was very keen for the Channel Tunnel project to have provision for cars to drive through rather than trains.
Whilst the proposal was very popular with the public, there were significant practical issues.
Railways can be controlled and the Eurostar trains tend to be operated at relatively low intervals, allowing for a lot of safety controls and contingencies to be put in place.
By contrast, a road tunnel would cause considerable practical issues, given the endless streams of motorists and the potential for a crash to take place in a place where it became exceptionally difficult for either French or English rescue services to get involved.
Mrs Thatcher acquiesced, on the condition that plans for a road project would be supplied by the year 2000, when it was expected that technology would improve enough to make it viable.
Ultimately, despite those plans arriving, the tunnel has yet to be built, although, with the development of autonomous cars and emissions-free vehicles, this plan could return.
