Churchill’s grandson backs plans for a ‘Brexit Bridge’ across the Channel as experts say it COULD happen
Boris Johnson suggested a new crossing which could strengthen links between Britain and France
WINSTON CHURCHILL’S grandson tonight threw his weight behind Boris Johnson’s dream of a cross-Channel ‘Brexit Bridge’ – as experts insisted it CAN be done.
Tory backbencher Nicholas Soames said the idea of a 25 mile bridge between Dover and Calais was “absolutely excellent”.
And he panned critics lining up to damn the Foreign Secretary today - 24 hours after he sounded out French President Emmanuel Macron.
Mr Soames told The Sun: “It’s an absolutely excellent idea.
“And the entirely predictable reaction to it, because it’s a free thinker like Boris, is so illustrative of where Britain is it at the moment.
“Why not have a look at it? It’s a very good idea.”
Sources close to Boris Johnson insist President Macron told him “Let’s do it!” when the subject came up at Theresa May’s Anglo-French summit on Thursday.
Some experts poured scorn on the vision because of the estimated £40billion cost, the fierce winds and amount of shipping in the Channel.
Alan Dunlop, an architect and professor at the University of Liverpool said: “It would be easier, and less expensive, to just move France closer.”
But Ian Firth, past president at the Institution of Structural Engineers, said it was viable. He said: “A bridge across the Channel has been seriously considered before and is entirely feasible.
“Back in Margaret Thatcher’s day, the studies for a Channel crossing included various bridge alternatives as well as the tunnel.”
He added: “One of the biggest challenges to a bridge is, of course, the shipping collision risk, but modern technologies are making it easier to prevent all the time.”
Boris Johnson has previously campaigned – unsuccessfully – for a six-runway hub airport in the Thames Estuary and a garden bridge across the River Thames.
He last year mooted a new car tunnel under the Channel – dubbed the "submarine highway". A cable car linking South London to North got off the ground - but Boris was famously stuck mid-air when launching the service.
A submission for a £3billion, three-lane motorway link 220ft above the Channel was made to transport officials in Margaret Thatcher’s Government in April 1981. Engineering group LinktoEurope estimated motorists would pay a £5.60 toll charge and lorries £8.
The Channel Tunnel was approved in 1986 and opened eight years later. It is only running at 55 per cent capacity. The idea of a tunnel was first drawn up in 1802 – complete with horse-drawn coaches and oil lamps lighting the way.
An island in the Channel would allow passengers to swap horses.
A cross-Channel bridge between Dover and Calais would represent Europe’s longest –beating the current No.1 – a bridge across the Rio Tejo Tagus river estuary in Lisbon. The Donghai Bridge is one of the longest cross-sea bridges in the world – total length of 20.2 miles connecting mainland Shanghai and offshore Yangshan deep-water port.
Labour’s Emily Thornberry yesterday panned the idea – asking: “Who are these clowns claiming to run our country?” Nigel Farage tweeted: “Boris’ bonkers bridge sounds like a big waste of money. Dangerous for container ships and useless when the wind blows (which is often)!”
No10 yesterday would only say it had yet to see any plans for a bridge.
Campaigners urged Boris Johnson to lend his support to a cross-border narrow water bridge linking Northern Ireland to the Republic that has been stuck in the planning process.
Another suggested a link between Dublin, Belfast and Glasgow.
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French finance minister Bruno Le Maire said: “All ideas merit consideration, even the most far-fetched ones.” But he added: “Let’s finish things that are already under way before thinking of new ones.”
Transport Ministry sources in Paris also indicated that the idea was "pie in the sky" at the moment.
One told The Sun: "Isn’t the whole point of Brexit that Britain wants to make it more difficult for foreigners to get into Britain? A bridge across the Channel does not sound like a Brexit project!"