April 1960: The cross channel bridge

Since its founding in 1856 The Engineer has reported on the recurring ambitions of engineers determined to build a physical link between the UK and France.

Such efforts finally came to fruition in May 1994 when the Channel Tunnel opened after five years of construction, but as recently as 2018 the idea of a cross channel bridge was raised when Boris Johnson, in his capacity as foreign secretary, suggested a second crossing above the sea.

Serious suggestions for a cross channel bridge can be found in the March 1893 edition of The Engineer but fast forward 67 years and the same idea was being proposed in parallel to plans for a channel tunnel.

At the helm of such an undertaking was none other than Dorman Long (Bridge & Engineering) Ltd, the company that established its own iron and steel making facilities in Cleveland before diversifying into the bridge builder that would construct the Sydney Harbour Bridge, Denmark’s Storstrøm Bridge, the Bangkok Memorial Bridge and many more across the globe.