The Irish Sea Bridge, sometimes called the Celtic Crossing by the media,[1] is a hypothetical rail and road bridge that would span the Irish Sea and connect the island of Ireland to the island of Great Britain.[2] It is one of a number of such proposed fixed sea links across Ireland and Britain. The bridge's length would depend upon the route taken; one such route, known as the Galloway route, would cross the North Channel, close to that taken by an existing ferry service, between Portpatrick in Dumfries and Galloway, and Larne in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, a distance of 45 kilometres (28 mi).
The concept of an Irish Sea Bridge had been proposed many times since the Victorian Era. In 2018 Professor Alan Dunlop at the University of Liverpool revived the idea. By February 2020, British government officials began scoping the possible route and type of crossing. Particular risks to such a project include the depth of North Channel and the presence of a large underwater munitions dump at Beaufort's Dyke. It was suggested that these problems would be mitigated in part by the construction of a tunnelled section.[3][4]
A full feasibility study was published in November 2021.[5] It estimated that a bridge would cost £335 billion, and a tunnel £209 billion. The study concluded that, although the technology exists to build either, any bridge would be "the longest span bridge built to date" and the tunnel would be "the longest undersea tunnel ever built".[6]
- ^ "A bridge between Scotland and Northern Ireland: what would it be like?". National Geographic. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 13 July 2020.
- ^ "Scotland: Ireland bridge 'is feasible'". BBC News. 22 January 2018. Archived from the original on 25 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
- ^ "Irish Sea bridge: Scoping work begins on Boris Johnson's 'ambitious' idea". ITV News. 10 February 2020. Archived from the original on 11 February 2020. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
- ^ "New images of bridge to link Scotland with Northern Ireland released". 5 September 2018.
- ^ "A fixed link between Great Britain and Northern Ireland technical feasibility" (PDF). publishing.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
- ^ McClements, Freya. "Cost of £335bn bridge from NI to Scotland not justifiable, UK government says". The Irish Times. Retrieved 26 November 2021.