# Tunnels under Irish sea with underground roundabout at Isle of Man **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 26, 2022, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169 "2022-02-26T23:21:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/1 "2022-02-26T23:21:06Z")
> **[Boris Johnson ‘wants to build roundabout under the Isle of Man’](https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/news/boris-johnson-wants-to-build-roundabout-under-the-isle-of-man)** > > Prime minister Boris Johnson wants to build a giant roundabout under the Isle of Man, connecting England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, according to The Sunday Times Boris Johnson has this idea of connecting Scotland, England, and Northern Ireland (for some reason he missed Wales) by tunnels under the Irish Sea with a big roundabout under the Isle of Man. It seems to be an alternative to a long bridge between NI and Scotland, which turns out to not be especially feasible (something about a mega-buttload of explosives dumped in the sea there just after WWII). So is anyone excited about this idea? Is there enough demand for traffic to make it worthwhile? Is BJ just jealous of the Faroes? > **[The bigger picture: the world’s first underwater roundabout](https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2021/01/the-bigger-picture-the-world-s-first-underwater-roundabout/)** > > The world’s first underwater roundabout has opened in a sub-sea road tunnel under the Tangafjørður sound in the Faroe Islands. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 26, 2022, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/2 "2022-02-26T23:30:34Z")
Will it be one hundred and fifty yards long, but only one inch wide? ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/3 "2022-02-27T05:22:22Z")
Is that a reference to a movie or book or something? Anyway, it looks like no one’s taking this seriously. At least no one on the boards here is. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/4 "2022-02-27T08:10:39Z")
It would be a tunnel at least as long as and probably far longer than the Channel Tunnel but not have anything even close to the volume of trade and traffic going through it. I really doubt it’s viable. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 9:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/5 "2022-02-27T09:33:12Z")
Might make more sense without the Scotland tunnel. AFACT, that part of Scotland is pretty low population. Or they’d also have to build an expressway from the tunnel up to Glasgow. But even with that, it’s probably not viable. ---
**Author:** ![cytop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@cytop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cytop)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/6 "2022-02-27T12:20:39Z")
So instead of '[Boris Island](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thames_Estuary_Airport#Boris_Island/London_Britannia) we get “Boris’s Burrow”. It’s not viable - it’s just blowing s\*\*t until some some other hare brained scheme pops into that big empty space enclosed by his cranium. ---
**Author:** ![naita](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/naita/32/5862_2.png) [@naita](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/naita)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 12:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/7 "2022-02-27T12:27:07Z")
It’s wholly unrealistic. I doubt he believes it possible himself, but it’s a way to keep the dumbs among his voters distracted from the fuckup that Brexit was and is with regards to NI. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 12:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/8 "2022-02-27T12:28:50Z")
It’s a Discworld reference. And I don’t think that Johnson believes it possible, nor do I think that he believes it impossible. Either one of those would require the establishment of a nexus between his mind and factual reality. People like Johnson consider factual reality to be completely irrelevant. ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 12:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/9 "2022-02-27T12:48:34Z")
I read somewhere a few months ago (sorry, I don’t have the cite, but it was from someone who knows Johnson) that Johnson wants to build some amazing thing – any amazing thing – so that he will be remembered for many centuries to come, ‘like the Roman emperors’. 🤣 ---
**Author:** ![cytop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f17d59/32.png) [@cytop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cytop)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 1:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/10 "2022-02-27T13:06:55Z")
> [@GreenWyvern](#): > > … so that he will be remembered for many centuries to come, ‘like the Roman emperors’ My usual mental comparison is to a certain, last century, leader of a European country; but I’ll stress, purely WRT grandiose schemes. No other comparison intended. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/11 "2022-02-27T13:50:24Z")
I see more than one parallel to Ceaucescu, not only the grandiose schemes. Or did you mean Enver Hoxha’s bunker scheme? Well he will be remebered for Brexit, as he chose to. Flanked by Farrage on the interior, Trump on the “friendly” exterior, and Putin from the unfriendly exterior. So he will be remembered for his political intelligence & people skills too. And when he finally goes we will shrug, say “good riddance!” and soon forget him so we get over the trauma. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/12 "2022-02-27T14:22:01Z")
> [@dtilque](#): > > So is anyone excited about this idea? Is there enough demand for traffic to make it worthwhile? Is BJ just jealous of the Faroes? Why all that expense for an archipelago with a population of 50,000? I mean, £120 million doesn’t seem that steep (it cost $4.5 **billion** to add 2 miles to the NYC subway, after all) but was the demand that great? As for Boris, nobody believes anything he says. He’s the personification of the ‘if his lips are moving’ joke. If Johnson wants to do something useful in the Irish Sea he could demand a complete accounting of everything dumped in the Beaufort Dyke, beyond the tons of conventional ammunition, biological and chemical weapons, and radioactive waste already known to reside there. ---
**Author:** ![dtilque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/d6d6ee/32.png) [@dtilque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dtilque)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/13 "2022-02-27T19:13:11Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > > [@dtilque](#): > > > > Is BJ just jealous of the Faroes? > > Why all that expense for an archipelago with a population of 50,000? I mean, £120 million doesn’t seem that steep (it cost $4.5 **billion** to add 2 miles to the NYC subway, after all) but was the demand that great? That underwater roundabout is pretty, you have to admit. Maybe they’re counting on it giving a boost to their tourist industry. The same might happen with this Irish Sea thing if they make it attractive enough. But to get enough traffic otherwise, an additional tunnel to Dublin would help. Of course, that Brexit thing would complicate that. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/14 "2022-02-27T19:37:27Z")
Yet another issue with this: If one wishes to use the Isle of Man as a junction point, why not surface the tunnels there and put the junction above-ground? That way, it’d be of use to the Manx, too, and it’d probably vastly simplify the engineering. > [@dtilque](#): > > But to get enough traffic otherwise, an additional tunnel to Dublin would help. Of course, that Brexit thing would complicate that. I think the Brexit thing is already complicating that. Didn’t they resolve the Irish problem with Brexit by continuing to not have border controls between Northern Ireland and the Republic, and instead putting border controls between Great Britain and Northern Ireland? ---
**Author:** ![GreenWyvern](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/greenwyvern/32/2834_2.png) [@GreenWyvern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GreenWyvern)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 8:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/15 "2022-02-27T20:28:22Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Didn’t they resolve the Irish problem with Brexit by continuing to not have border controls between Northern Ireland and the Republic, and instead putting border controls between Great Britain and Northern Ireland? That was the agreement, but the issue is nowhere near ‘resolved’. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/46a35a/32.png) [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_T-Bonham.net)\ **Post date:** [February 27, 2022, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/16 "2022-02-27T21:29:23Z")
I don’t see how this is feasible engineering-wise. (To say nothing of financial feasibility.) For example, air to breathe, and exhaust from the vehicles – where would that come from/go to? One of the reasons the Channel tunnel is a railroad tunnel is to avoid the problem of all those automobile engines running inside it. The NYC tunnels under rivers are much shorter, but they have big air vents & powered fans in them. Where & how could you do this in tunnels that are many miles (kilometers) long? If you tried to do this all from the tunnel entrance, the air velocity would have to be so high it’d feel like driving into a hurricane! ---
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/17 "2022-02-28T13:17:42Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I think the Brexit thing is already complicating that. Didn’t they resolve the Irish problem with Brexit by continuing to not have border controls between Northern Ireland and the Republic, and instead putting border controls between Great Britain and Northern Ireland? Supposedly. But the Ulster Unionists don’t (not surprisingly) care for the idea. So BJ and his government have been trying to get the practical/physical realities of such controls (paperwork/inspections) so watered down, so as to turn it into a sort of Schrödinger’s Border (or, in terms someone like BJ might understand better, the Emperor’s New Border). The thing’s been kicked down the road several times, so it’s hard to keep track of where the negotiations are. Call it another example of BJ’s magical thinking. Which is where we came in. ---
**Author:** ![Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/q.q.switcheroo/32/5713_2.png) [@Q.Q.Switcheroo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Q.Q.Switcheroo)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/18 "2022-02-28T13:30:09Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Will it be one hundred and fifty yards long, but only one inch wide? Will it let me drive backwards for Christmas? ---
**Author:** ![Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/qadgop_the_mercotan/32/83_2.png) [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Qadgop_the_Mercotan)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 2:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/19 "2022-02-28T14:04:12Z")
Sounds Bloody Stupid. I like that about it. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2022, 2:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169/20 "2022-02-28T14:13:06Z")
> [@Tim\_T-Bonham.net](#): > > If you tried to do this all from the tunnel entrance, the air velocity would have to be so high it’d feel like driving into a hurricane! But if you make _two_ tunnels, you can give a wind assist to the cars if you make the wind go in the right direction! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tunnels-under-irish-sea-with-underground-roundabout-at-isle-of-man/960169.md?page=2)