A BRIDGE
between Scotland and
Ireland would be a waste of time and money as links to better markets already
exist, a senior engineer has said.
Gordon
Masterton, past President of the Institution of Civil Engineers, believes that
the funds needed to finance such a hugely ambitious project would be better
spent on links with the rest of the UK and Europe rather than across the Irish
Sea.
The idea of a
combined rail and road bridge is back in the headlines again following Foreign
Secretary Boris Johnson's
comments about a link above the English Channel between Britain and France.
Proponents have
envisaged a viaduct similar to the 5-mile Oresund which links Denmark and
Sweden, using a mix of pylons and a tunnel.
However, Mr
Masterton said that any similar structure between Scotland and Ireland would
have to overcome substantial engineering challenges while major infrastructure
work would also been needed before it would be of any use.
He said:
"It's not a new idea. There have been various ideas for bridges or tunnels
between Scotland and Ireland down the years, although none of them has been
properly costed or studied in any great detail.
"A fixed
link between the two countries is all well and good if there are benefits to be
had, but no-one has explained what they could be in any great detail.
"I would
have thought that a far more effective way to spend the funds you would need
for the bridge would be to extend the HS2 high-speed railway into Scotland and
improve links with the rest of the UK and further afield in Europe."
Mr Masterton
said that any bridge would have to be able to withstand very fierce weather and
would have to be high enough to escape the waves and allow ships to slip under.
He said that it
would be done in sections linked by pylons sunk deep into the seabed to rest on
the bedrock, while pontoons could also be used for some sections, but major
technical challenges would have to be overcome before the bridge to Ireland
could be a reality.
One of the
biggest obstacles is Beaufort’s Dyke, a 31-mile long sea trench more than 200m
deep which runs across the bottom of the Irish Sea, while even getting to the
bridge would require costly upgrades to Scotland's roads.
Two routes have
been suggested for a crossing - Portpatrick in Dumfries and Galloway to Belfast
Cambletown Mull of Kintyre to Antrim.
However, both
lack decent transport links to the rest of Scotland.
Mr Masterton
said: "It's all very well building a bridge, but then you have to connect
it to the rest of Scotland and the cost of the whole project would have to
reflect that.
"The
project is not just the bridge, it's the approach roads which in this case
would go all the way back to the Central Belt."
The engineer
added: "It's good to have people thinking about large-scale projects which
fire the imagination, but you have to focus on where the benefits will be and
if there would be any value for money."
Boris Johnson
raised the prospect of a bridge as it was announced that Britain and France
were setting up a panel of experts to look at joint infrastructure projects.
But Downing Street appeared
to pour cold water on the idea, saying there was no plan for the bridge. The
English Channel bridge, which would have to cross the world’s busiest shipping
lane, with 500 vessels passing each day, was also criticised by maritime
chiefs.
http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/15889404.Link_between_Scotland_and_Ireland_would_be_a__bridge_too_far___say_engineers/
