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Boris Johnson proposes a 22-mile bridge across the ChannelForeign secretary discusses idea with French president Emmanuel Macron as a way to enhance transport links after BrexitJohnson has championed ambitious infrastructure projects in the past that have not come to fruition.As mayor of London, he opened the £60m Emirates Air Line cable car which has failed to attract hoped-for commuter traffic.Johnson wanted an airport built in the Thames estuary, dubbed Boris Island, but the idea was dismissed as impractical and costly in comparison to expanding Heathrow. He also backed the construction of a garden bridge across the Thames in west London which was ditched by his successor as mayor, Sadiq Khan, for not offering value for money.
Engineers, however, have said the idea of a Channel bridge is not as far-fetched as it may seem. Alan Dunlop, who teaches architecture at the University of Liverpool, referred to the new 34-mile sea bridge linking Hong Kong and Macau, which cost £12bn. It is yet to open to traffic.“That’s without any regulation, processes, health and safety and using Chinese workers,” he told the Times. “I’d say at least £120bn for a Channel bridge and that’s a conservative estimate. It would really be cheaper to mover France closer.”