An Engineering Concept of the Taiwan Strait Tunnel

Abstract

The necessity and the preliminary tentative plan for the construction of the undersea tunnel across Taiwan Strait are expounded in this atricle. The strait undersea tunnels, which have been built and investigated in the world, and their engineering characteristics and construction methods have been introduced herein briefly. Taiwan has been a part of China since ancient times and the people between the mainland and Taiwan are kindred compatriots in the extended family of the Chinese multinational country. For a long time, the people between southeast of China and Taiwan have had frequent communication in economy and culture. With the progress of times and the need of development, it has been put forward to build a safe and reliable undersea tunnel that is not affected by the environment across Taiwan Strait, and one which is also a magnificent project for the China in the long-term. Whether by using a bridge or an undersea tunnel or both across the strait is a problem worthy of further research. According to such conditions as the weather of Taiwan Strait, depth of water, undersea terrain, possibility of engineering and hydrological geology under the sea, as well as the possibility of Taiwan Strait as a main shipping passage from south to north of China and the experience of existing passage across strait in the world, the primary analysis shows that the scheme of an undersea tunnel should be considered. Therefore the concept of the undersea tunnel engineering across Taiwan Strait is introduced in detail here.