Europe and Africa are divided by only 14 miles [14 km]. Building a bridge of such a length, in the conditions of current technological opportunities, seems to be a big problem. Yes, it needs huge financial resources, but even if Spanish and Morocco do not have such resources, why not rich European countries cannot fund the construction of the bridge with joint efforts? Such a bridge would cut off expenses and time for cargo transportation, recorded logistics and opened huge opportunities for trade and tourism. Finally, the tunnel under La Mansh has been built, 34 km, and the Panama canal is 82 km. There are much longer bridges in China. Even the Crimean Bridge, 19 km long, has 7.5 km of sea.
It seems technically possible. So why don't they build a bridge over Gibraltar Strait? Many believe that the reason is Europe's fear of the possible flow of African migrants. But in reality, the problem is different.
The main reason is that the Strait of Gibraltar is too deep.
The average depth is about 340 meters,
In the usual sections, 800 meters,
And maximum is 1180 meters.
For comparison, the depth of the Crimean Strait is only 18 meters, La Mansh, 174 meters.
Even in the case of La Mansh, the bridge was not built, but a tunnel was built, which will be closed by economists only after about 1000 years.
In the case of Gibraltar, one pillar should be higher than Burj Khalifa Tower (the world's tallest building) is about 1.5 times higher. And such pillars were to be hundreds, if not thousands.
Other obstacles
In addition to depth, there are also a number of other serious problems.
Strong currents.
About 110 trillion cubic meters of water passes through the Strait of Gibraltar, more than the capacity of all rivers of the country and 4 times more than the entire volume of Lake Baikal.
Reverend streams.
In the upper layers of water flows from Atlantic to the Mediterranean Sea (from the West), in the lower stow, in the opposite direction, west of the east. Thus, the Mediterranean Sea seems to "breathe" with a permanent exchange of water with the Atlantic Ocean. This not only complicates the construction, but also causes great pressure on various directions at the same time.
Seismic and weather hazards. The Gibraltar region is subject to earthquakes, floods, strong storms, which would require unprecedented engineering protection.
Conclusion
All this means that such a bridge technically build is possible only in theory, but in practice is extremely expensive and risky. Even if it was built, from an economic point of view, it would never be acquitted.
That is why Europe and Africa continue to be divided into how to Herakli and Alexander the Macedonian. The Strait is still impassable to mankind.
Levon Azizyan
Director of "Hydrometeorology and Monitoring Center" SNCO
