Flanked by two powerful European nations,

the English Channel

has long been one of the world’s

most important maritime passages.

Yet for most of its history,

the channel’s rocky shores

and stormy weather

made crossing a dangerous prospect.

Engineers of the early 1800's

proposed numerous plans

for spanning the 33 kilometer gap.

Their designs included artificial islands

linked by bridges,

submerged tubes suspended

from floating platforms,

and an underwater passage more than twice

the length of any existing tunnel.

By the end of the century,

this last proposal had captured

European imagination.

The invention
of the tunnel boring machine

and the discovery of a stable layer

of chalk marl below the seabed

made this fantastic tunnel

more feasible.

But the project’s most urgent obstacles

were ones no engineer could solve.

At the time,

Britons viewed their geographic isolation

as a strategic advantage,

and fears about French invasion

shut down plans for the tunnel.

The rise of aerial warfare rendered

these worries obsolete,

but new economic concerns

arose to replace them.

Finally, 100 years after

the initial excavation,

the two countries

reached an agreement—

the tunnel would proceed

with private funding.

In 1985, a group
of French and British companies

invested the modern equivalent

of 14 billion pounds,

making the tunnel the most expensive

infrastructure project to date.

The design called

for three separate tunnels—

one for trains to France,

one for trains to England,

and one service tunnel between them.

Alongside crossover chambers,

emergency passages, and air ducts,

this amounted to over 200 kilometers

of tunnels.

In 1988, workers began excavating

from both sides,

planning to meet in the middle.

Early surveys of the French coast

revealed the site was full of fault lines.

These small cracks

let water seep into the rock,

so engineers had to develop

waterproof boring machines.

The British anticipated drier conditions,

and forged ahead with regular borers.

But only months into the work, water

flooded in through undetected fissures.

To drill in this wet chalk,

the British had to use grout

to seal the cracks

created in the borer’s wake,

and even work ahead of the main borer

to reinforce the chalk
about to be drilled.

With these obstacles behind them,

both teams began drilling at full speed.

Boring machines weighing up to 1,300 tons

drilled at nearly 3.5 meters per hour.

As they dug, they installed lining rings

to stabilize the tunnel behind them,

making way for support wagons

following each machine.

Even at top speed,

work had to proceed carefully.

The chalk layer followed a winding path

between unstable rock and clay,

punctured by over 100 boring holes

made by previous surveyors.

Furthermore, both teams had

to constantly check their coordinates

to ensure they were on track to meet

within 2 centimeters of each other.

To maintain this delicate trajectory,

the borers employed

satellite positioning systems,

as well as paleontologists
who used excavated fossils

to confirm they were at the right depth.

During construction,
the project employed over 13,000 people

and cost the lives of ten workers.

But after two and a half years

of tunneling,

the two sides finally made contact.

British worker Graham Fagg

emerged on the French side,

becoming the first human to cross

the channel by land since the Ice Age.

There was still work to be done—

from installing crossover chambers

and pumping stations,

to laying over a hundred miles of tracks,

cables, and sensors.

But on May 6, 1994, an opening ceremony

marked the tunnel’s completion.

Full public service began

16 months later,

with trains for passengers

and rail shuttles for cars and trucks.

Today, the Channel Tunnel services

over 20 million passengers a year,

transporting riders across the channel

in just 35 minutes.

Unfortunately, not everyone has

the privilege of making this trip legally.

Thousands of refugees have tried

to enter Britain through the tunnel

in sometimes fatal attempts.

These tragedies have transformed

the tunnel’s southern entrance

into an ongoing site of conflict.

Hopefully, the structure’s history

can serve as a reminder

that humanity is at their best

when breaking down barriers.