Russia OKs Underwater Tunnel to Alaska

But it would transport freight, not people, under Bering Strait
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 1, 2011 4:51 PM CDT
Russia OKs Underwater Bering Strait Tunnel to Alaska
A man walks along a frozen stretch of the Bering Strait.   (AP Photo/Goliath Earth Trek UK, File)

How do you get from the US to Asia without a boat or a plane? If Russia has its way, you may soon be able to take the train. Moscow has approved an underwater tunnel through the Bering Strait, linking Alaska and Russia via underground train, AOL Autos reports. The 65-mile route would be the world’s longest underwater tunnel at about twice the length of the Chunnel between England and France. But at roughly $1 billion per mile, it wouldn’t be cheap.

Where that money would come from hasn’t yet been decided, World Architecture News notes. But the tunnel could bring in some $11 billion yearly, experts say. It appears that it wouldn’t welcome passengers; instead, it would carry some 100 million tons of freight yearly. Russia hopes the project would help it gain access to Arctic mineral and fossil fuels it has claimed. The tunnel, which could take up to 15 years to build, might also deliver electricity from Russia to Alaska and Canada. (More Russia stories.)

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