A Bridge too far? Scotland - Ireland Bridge proposals

Soldato
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How funny would it be if Boris blew billions building a bridge from Northern Ireland to Scotland, then Scotland left the UK, Ireland reunified, and they kept the bridge xD

He'd probably have a spasm xD
Scotland wouldn't be to happy I would imagine as they would have to pay for it in the case of Scotland splitting from the rest of the UK.
 
Man of Honour
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If Boris designed a car, it would be the Canyonero.

To be fair it has some pretty sweet features, it was just uneconomical and ugly.

Anyone know why the munitions were dumped in this area and not somewhere completely out the way? I wouldn’t fancy one washing into the base of the bridge, that’s without the construction challenge.
 
Soldato
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Anyone know why the munitions were dumped in this area and not somewhere completely out the way? I wouldn’t fancy one washing into the base of the bridge, that’s without the construction challenge.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort's_Dyke

IMO these dumped munitions would have long since half rotted away to now be non-functional.

Lets just get the bridge done. Build it with some redundant structure so if a torpedo does go off it won't collapse. Jobs a good un.
 
Associate
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If they've got a suitable solution to the problem of Beaufort's Dyke, I don't think it's a terrible idea. We haven't got the money for it but it feels like the days of needing to be able to afford stuff are behind us - we're so far in debt now that we might as well just carry on borrowing until it collapses one day.
 
Soldato
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that sounds like a potential terrorism hotspot if you ask me.
What, Fèanaoghàruiragh, or the bridge checkpoint?
Potential, yes, but that's why you have a bunch of Paras walking around...

I love the idea simply because driving along it would be enjoyable lol but doesn’t seem practical at all.
Would be something like the long, elevated road along the Florida Keys, perhaps... albeit one built by the lowest bidder, coz this is still Britain!
 
Soldato
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Don't know but Japan has tsunamis and earthquakes so I'm sure we can manage if we put our minds to it.

Hell, collectively we here on OCUK could design it no probs. A little background knowledge and internet derived opinion is all that is needed on any topic.

LMAO DEAD!!! Everyone has 15 PHD's online and enough knowledge to make David attorbourgh seem like a newborn...
 
Caporegime
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Having experienced a few rough crossings it’ll need to be one hell of a structural achievement!
"All we need is a little optimism and faith in this great country. Let's bring this country together and Get The Bridge Done."

"How?"

"We'll huff and we'll puff and we'll Get the Bridge Done."

"How?"

"I don't know about you but I'm fed up with all this pessimism."

"How?"

"By having managed the economy really well so we're able to invest in our infrastructure."

This will never see the light of day. Much like fibre to the premises for the whole country within five years time.
 
Commissario
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If they can build spectacularly long sea bridges in areas of middle east, china or japan then why cant we do it here?

im all for it.
Not all sea bridges are the same...

for example the depth makes a difference, as do things like the composition of the sea floor, how many (if any) small islands you can use for part of the support, and how likely you are to disturb enough explosives to create quite a large tsunami.
 
Commissario
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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beaufort's_Dyke

IMO these dumped munitions would have long since half rotted away to now be non-functional.

Lets just get the bridge done. Build it with some redundant structure so if a torpedo does go off it won't collapse. Jobs a good un.


You're aware that we still get munitions turn up in the likes of the Thames which are a threat, and they're more likely to have "rotted away" at depths of a few tens of meters than hundreds of meters?

Also not all munitions "rot away" but a lot actually become more dangerous as they degrade due to things like stabilising agents going first, the armed forces aren't too worried about the odd bomb not going off, but they do get very worried about the idea of one going off when it shouldn't because it's no longer stable, and if one goes off it's extremely likely to set off a lot more as they didn't just dump them one or two at a time, they dumped them by the ship load.
 
Soldato
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Not all sea bridges are the same...

for example the depth makes a difference, as do things like the composition of the sea floor, how many (if any) small islands you can use for part of the support, and how likely you are to disturb enough explosives to create quite a large tsunami.

I agree with the munitions side of things. People talk about the SS Montgomery being an issue with a mere 1400 tonnes of munitions left on it. (For possible bridges/tunnels/airports being built nearby) Maths has never been my strong point but if there is a collection of a million and a half tonnes of munitions in the vicinity of this link it doesn’t sound like a great idea...
 
Soldato
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Although would still require a solid 60 miles of Dual carriageway to be constructed to the north along with upgrades to the existing dualled section of the A77 and i'd imagine some serious changes to the Kingston bridge and top of the M77/M8 Junction as part of an overall project with any increases in traffic volume

Heading east you would be looking at another 100 miles of work to upgrade the A75 to provide a decent dualled connection to the M74/M6 to fully utilise any new link

Apart from the Beaufort's Dyke issue, this is the main reason the bridge won't happen. The roads from Stranraer to Ayr, and east to Dumfries are nothing short of atrocious. They will have to be replaced or upgraded by a significant margin. The A77 from Stranraer to Portpatrick is a windy road barely worth the A designation. The bridge will be easy. Constructing the new roads in the face of SNP opposition (who have refused to do anything about the roads for the past ten years) are the real nightmare.
 
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