As the Bering Strait Tunnel is taking a prominent place in international discourse, it is helpful to review the assessment made in 2014 by the global leader in tunnel construction, the German firm Herrenknecht, which has already connected Europe and Asia, in the form of the Bosphorus tunnel.
In February, Herrenknecht received a contract for a feasibility study on a Gibraltar Strait tunnel between Spain and Morocco. The company is also providing the nine tunnel boring machines (TBMs) planned for the Brenner Basis Tunnel under the Alps between Italy and Austria (a key infrastructure in the “Corridor 5” of Trans-European Networks), of which at least two have been delivered and have been used to build an exploratory tunnel. Although the Bering tunnel is longer than the 57 km Brenner rail tunnel (which is still under construction), “that doesn’t mean we’ve reached the end of the line, according to Herrenknecht,” Manager Magazine reported on June 16, 2014, adding that a company spokesperson told them, “We believe that, in principle, the construction of such a gigantic tunnel structure would be entirely feasible using today’s technology.”
“However, the company is unable to make a final assessment of the matter,” Manager Magazine went on, quoting the spokesperson adding: “In our view, there is still a great deal that needs to be examined and considered very carefully.”
