A bridge too far?

Files just released by the National Archives show Britons might now be driving from the UK to France across a great suspension bridge if plans put forward in the early 1980s had succeeded.

Artist's impression of the proposed suspension bridge across the English Channel

Suspension bridge

The proposed bridge, 21 miles long and 220ft high, would have stretched from Dover to Cap Gris Nez in Northern France. It would have cost some £3billion and taken about 10 years to build.

Motorists would have been able to drive to France and back on a six-lane motorway at a cost – in the late eighties – of £5.60. Lorry drivers would have paid £8.00.

Based on Humber Bridge

The project - which would have created the world's longest suspension bridge – was based on a similar design to the 1.4 mile Humber Bridge which links East Yorkshire to North Lincolnshire.

Papers from The National Archives at Kew reveal all the plans and artist's impressions for this ambitious project.

Thatcher's backing

Plans to build the bridge apparently had the backing of the then Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and Norman Fowler, a former Minister of Transport.

Designer Sir Ralph Freeman, and his company Linkeurope Ltd, assured ministers that the project would be safer, more lucrative and have far greater popular appeal than rival plans for a rail tunnel. It was also argued that the bridge would have been strong enough to withstand the impact of a ferry crashing into one of the supporting piers.

Thousands of workers

The bridge, which would have rested on 15 piers, each about 1.8 miles apart, would have required thousands of workers, 450,000 tons of steel and 250,000 cubic metres of concrete to complete.

Travellers to Europe now go by the Eurostar train or by car via Eurotunnel

Explaining to civil servants

Sir Ralph and his fellow-directors had several meetings with the senior civil servants at the Transport Department between 1979 and 1981 to explain what was involved.

But the ambitious plans came to nothing; the Department concluded in 1981 that, while the bridge was likely to be a financial success, the concerns about safety, shipping hazards, environmental problems and long-term maintenance, were too great to overcome.

Channel Tunnel

A few years later, the French and British governments agreed to build a tunnel under the Channel which was completed and opened in 1994.

“英法大桥”离我们还有多远？

英国国家档案馆的最新解密文件披露，如果上世纪八十年代初提出的、建造横跨英吉利海峡的英法大桥计划被通过，也许现在的英国人只需驱车就可以前往法国了。

画家对英吉利海峡吊桥的构思图

海峡大桥

按照当时的构想，这座贯通英吉利海峡的吊桥东起多佛海峡,长21英里，高220英尺，西至法国北部的格里内角（Cap Gris Nez），造价将达到30亿英镑左右，需要花费十年时间建成。

如果这个6车道的吊桥建成，按照八十年代晚期的情况，每辆过桥汽车只需花费5.6英镑的通行费，就可以开往法国。而货车的过桥费用是8英镑。

以亨伯桥为参考

根据海峡大桥计划，这座连接英国和法国的大桥将成为世界上最长的大桥，其整体构思和贯通东约克郡与北林肯郡的长约1.4英里的亨伯桥极为相似。

英国国家档案馆的资料披露了所有与这个雄心勃勃的计划有关的方案以及画家的吊桥构想图。

首相的支持

建造吊桥的计划很显然是经过当时的首相玛格丽特．撒切尔（Margaret Thatcher）夫人以及前交通部部长诺曼•福勒（Norman Fowler）批准的。

海峡大桥的设计师拉尔夫•弗里曼（Ralph Freeman）爵士以及他拥有的“连接欧洲公司” 试图说服英国内阁各部长，建设海峡大桥将比竞争性计划——海底隧道更加安全，更加有利可图，并且对游客也具有更大的吸引力。受到争议的一点就是，吊桥是否有足够大的承受力来抵消驶经英吉利海峡的渡船对桥墩的冲击力。

数千名工人的劳动

整座海峡吊桥计划由15个桥墩组成，彼此之间相隔1.8英里，需要数千名工人的劳作、450,000吨钢铁、250,000立方米的混凝土才能建成。

现在游客可以搭乘“欧洲之星”列车或驱车穿过“欧洲隧道”到欧洲旅游

说服高级官员

1979～1981年期间，拉尔夫爵士和他的支持者就海峡计划的相关问题多次召开会议，说服交通部的高级官员，试图让他们同意实施这一项目。

最终，这一雄心勃勃的计划无疾而终。1981年，交通部给出这样的结论：尽管海峡大桥有着潜在的商业利益，但是考虑到其安全性能、船运的危险因素、环境乃至永久维护等一系列难以克服的艰巨问题，海峡大桥计划取消。

海峡隧道

几年之后，英法两国政府达成协议，同意修建海峡隧道实现两国互通。1994年，连接英国和法国的海峡隧道建成通车。

滴答网在此感谢英国驻广州总领事馆提供稿件