A £100m tunnel could link Britain to the Orkney islands (Image: Getty) Everyone has heard of the Channel Tunnel , perhaps the UK's largest infrastructure project of the 20th century. But that's not the only major tunnel linking Britain's mainland underwater. There are now plans for a £100million undersea road tunnel between Orkney and Caithness, which would be about nine to 10 miles in length and solve transport link issues which have frustrated residents for many years.
Although the tunnel has not been discussed in great detail since around 2005, Scottish Office Minister Iain Stewart took a trip to the Faroe Islands in 2022 and the idea of a connecting tunnel resurfaced once again. The Faroe Islands’ use of tunnels has been extremely successful, particularly Eysturoyartunnilin, which not only connects the capital Torshavn with the second largest city but also acts as a tourist attraction due to it having the world’s first underwater roundabout. function loadOvpScript(){let el=document.
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addEventListener("tcfLoaded",()=>{loadOvpScript()ExpressApp.Log('[Load] OVP tcfLoaded',new Date())})}},1500)}) READ MORE: The house in the middle of Royal Troon explained as The Open lands in Ayrshire The Faroe Islands utilise a tunnel system, including the world's first underwater roundabout (Image: Getty) However, despite the proposed tunnel potentially acting as the answer for the islands only reachable by ferry, Orkney’s MP Alistair Carmichael shared the potential problems with such a large-scale construction plan. "Political engagement and investment will still be needed for updated and sustainable ferries," Carmichael told orcadian.
co.uk . "The government must remember that this is not a cure-all for our infrastructure, particularly in Orkney.
" He also said that it could cost £20million per kilometre. Don't miss..
. UK road upgrade 'set to cost an astronomical £31 million per mile' [LATEST] The beautiful seaside town that is one of the most radioactive places in the UK [LATEST] Beautiful island home to one of UK's straightest roads with 130 miles of beaches [LATEST] The only way to get to most of the Orkney Islands is via ferry (Image: Getty) Trending SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding.
You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our Privacy Policy However, the MP did emphasise that the potential of fixed links for parts of the Northern Isles would be ‘transformational’. The Orkney Islands are an archipelago off the north coast of Scotland, consisting of around 70 islands.
As of now, the only way to get between them is by ferry or plane, and so a series of road tunnels could be a far more efficient form of linkage between them. As well as a tunnel or tunnel system, a bridge had also been proposed on top of a Pentland Tidal Array, as a tunnel may pose risks to the renewables industry in the Pentland Firth. Related articles The shortest flight in the world takes just one and a half minutes You can visit the tiny Italian chapel on uninhabited UK island Whole pod of 77 whales dead and washed up on beach in larges.
