British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, left, with French President Emmanuel Macron, and Laurent Fabius, prepare for a group photo during UK-France summit talks at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, in Camberley, England, Thursday Jan. 18, 2018. The leaders announced that police and security services from France and England will meet to help combat extremism and terrorist threats.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, left, with French President Emmanuel Macron, and Laurent Fabius, prepare for a group photo during UK-France summit talks at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, in Camberley, England, Thursday Jan. 18, 2018. The leaders announced that police and security services from France and England will meet to help combat extremism and terrorist threats. Pool via AP Stefan Rousseau
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, left, with French President Emmanuel Macron, and Laurent Fabius, prepare for a group photo during UK-France summit talks at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, in Camberley, England, Thursday Jan. 18, 2018. The leaders announced that police and security services from France and England will meet to help combat extremism and terrorist threats. Pool via AP Stefan Rousseau

Business

A bridge too far? UK's Boris Johnson suggests span to France

The Associated Press

January 19, 2018 05:46 AM

LONDON

British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has suggested that Britain and France should build a bridge across the English Channel to bolster links between the two nations after Brexit.

At a U.K.-France summit, Johnson said the idea of a bridge was worth considering. He said it's ridiculous that countries 20 miles (32 kilometers) apart are linked only by a single railway tunnel.

Johnson neglected to mention that there are also sea and air links between Britain and France.

Ian Firth, past president of the Institution of Structural Engineers, said Friday that a bridge was "entirely feasible." But shipping firms warn it could disrupt one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.

At Thursday's summit the two countries pledged to set up a panel of "eminent and qualified persons" to examine "significant projects."