Boris’s bridge too far

Boris Johnson’s proposal for a bridge across the Channel isn’t pure science fiction, although it would have to be very tall to let the ships go under; and, if it were to be for the use of cars, wide enough to fit petrol stations and a Welcome Break. Moreover, say the critics, aren’t there other parts of the UK worthy of a crossing? What price a direct rail link from Glasgow to Belfast? A trip to the Isle of Wight still necessitates a ferry, followed by a ride on reconstituted Underground carriages on a train network that only covers half the island.

And what of the Atlantic? One of the publication sensations of the Edwardian era was Bernhard Kellermann’s a novel about an engineer who seeks to build a tunnel connecting Europe to America. Things don’t go smoothly. The project is beset with disasters, the money nearly runs out and the workers revolt. It takes three decades to finish the tunnel and, by then, aeroplanes can do the trip faster. Technology changes. By the time England is bridged to France, daytrippers might be visiting Mars instead.