Johnson considering building bridge between Northern Ireland and Scotland
Image credit: Dreamstime
The UK Government is considering building a £20bn bridge between Ireland and Scotland, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson looks to give the thumbs up to infrastructure projects that will cement the legacy of his time in office.
Yesterday, the Sun reported that a Whitehall source said Johnson was receiving a feasibility study into the proposal. The bridge would be most likely to run between Portpatrick in Scotland and Larne in County Antrim.
The Oresund Bridge (pictured above) in Sweden will be one of the potential bridge models proposed for the 20-mile crossing. It involves both an oversea bridge and an artificial island, through which a tunnel is built to reach the final stretch of the mainland.
Johnson has a track record of endorsing such grand projects. He previously championed the 'Garden Bridge' in central London that was ultimately cancelled following criticism that it was a waste of taxpayers' money.
The Daily Mail claims that Johnson has refused to be dissuaded against this latest bridge project by concerns voiced over spiralling costs.
It is also possible that with rising support for both Scottish Independence and Ireland reunification, neither country might be part of the UK by the time the bridge is completed.
Critics such as Labour MP Wes Streeting have said the bridge is just another “vanity project” for Johnson.
Labour peer Andrew Adonis believes the money could be better spent elsewhere.
Nigel Farage, leader of the Brexit Party, described the idea as “crazy”, calling for greater investment in the North of England instead.
In 2018, China finished its bridge-tunnel system connecting Hong Kong with mainland China, which dwarfs the proposed Scotland-Ireland crossing in terms of its total length.
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