Representatives of the Dutch business Tunnel Engineering Consultants (TEC) have this week visited the Isle of Wight, declaring that a fixed link across the Solent is technically feasible and attractive to investors – but would cost up to £1.2billion.
Paul Hanafin, Director of Infrastructure at Royal HaskoningDHV and Hans de Wit, Managing Director of TEC both visited the Island during a two-day visit, bringing world-leading technical tunnel construction expertise and expert knowledge of what would be needed to deliver such a project in the UK.
It has been revealed that a fixed link would take up to 10 years from start to finish and cost up to £1.2billion. The full engineering and design study for the project would take between 2-3 years, with the actual build taking between 5-7 years. If started now, the Island could have a fixed link by 2026.
The delegates assessed that an immersed tube tunnel option would be attractive to boost the socio-economics on the Island, with up to 90% of the labour for the project could be locally sourced.
The biggest challenges of a fixed link to be considered for this construction method are environmental issues, as the Solent has a number of significant and complex constraints around any route.
The choice of a bored tunnel would use much less local labour, due to the highly specialised skills needed for such a project, but it would cause significantly less environmental impact.
Picture courtesy of Femern A/S
