$20 trillion tunnel that could link New York and London in an hour

Busy beavers and merry moles have been chattering about resurfaced plans for a $20 trillion transatlantic tunnel that could theoretically link London and New York in just an hour using vacuum tube technology. That’s 3,000 miles of burrowing, mind, which Newsweek estimates could take the best part of a millennium if construction proceeded at the same rate as Europe’s Channel Tunnel. In plans that are actually happening, Norway broke ground last month on its Rogfast project, which promises to be the world’s longest, deepest undersea road tunnel. Elsewhere in northern Europe, the world’s longest road and rail tunnel, the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel between Denmark and Germany, is slated to open in 2029.

Southern Europe isn’t shy of a project or two, either. Construction of a new bridge linking Greece and Turkey might be closer to getting underway, the Greek Reporter said Saturday. Over near the western end of Europe, the UK is busy building one of the world’s most expensive railway projects, known as HS2 (High Speed 2), which now costs an almighty $416 million per mile. However, many people think it’s pointless. That comes a few years after the UK resurfaced plans for what would have been one of the world’s most ambitious bridges, linking Britain and Ireland. It was to cross just a 12-mile stretch, but the waters were deep enough to submerge the Eiffel Tower. Then there was the matter of all the radioactive waste and unexploded munitions. Unsurprisingly, plans were dropped. A top musician who played at the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was forced to cancel a concert this week after Air Canada refused to give his multi-million-dollar cello a seat on the plane.