4.5.2006 at 16:16

The Kvarken Council, a cross-border cooperation body, on Thursday ordered its transport working group to look into the possibilities of linking the Finnish and Swedish coasts of the Gulf of Bothnia with a bridge or a tunnel.

A study produced by the council at the end of the 1990s argued that the technical prerequisites for such a link existed.

Lennart Holmlund, the chairman of the council, said Thursday that the matter concerned the EU as well as Finland and Sweden.

At its narrowest point, the Gulf of Bothnia is about 70km wide.

/STT/

Source (http://virtual.finland.fi/stt/showarticle.asp?intNWSAID=12529&group=General)

This idea, ofcourse, is completely utopistic, if they can bearly make a ferry-line profitable I don't see how a bridge or tunnel could be smart at that location. They should concentrate their efforts on a Helsinki-Tallinn tunnel instead, not that it concerns the Kvarken council but someone should. :)

Impressive idea... but is it economically viable? Linking Tallinn and Helsinki makes more sense?

Impressive idea... but is it economically viable? Linking Tallinn and Helsinki makes more sense?

Kvarken area population:
Umeå: 110,700
Vaasa: 57,266

Helsinki metro: 1 million+
Tallinn: 300-400.000?
Not to mention a Helsinki-Tallinn tunnel would enable a direct railway link from Finland to central Europe through the Baltics.

Ofcourse if the people in the Kvarken region can dig up the money then go for it, but if would be a state/EU funded project I'd rather see that money go towards a Helsinki-Tallinn tunnel.

Nice! :) I like the idea. Sometimes it's wiser to to think a bit crazy.

Go for it!

Why spend billions on a huge expensive bridge in a region with almost no inhabitians? Especially since these billions are needed elsewhere.