Misplaced Pages

#62937

50-522: With the two Diomede Islands between the peninsulas, the Bering Strait could be spanned by a bridge or tunnel. There have been several proposals for a Bering Strait crossing made by various individuals and media outlets. The names used for them include "The Intercontinental Peace Bridge" and "Eurasia–America Transport Link". Tunnel names have included "TKM–World Link", "AmerAsian Peace Tunnel" and InterBering. In April 2007, Russian government officials told

100-479: A cross-straits connection, and a 2018 cryptocurrency offering to fund the construction of a tunnel. In 2005, investor Neil Bush , younger brother of U.S. President George W. Bush and son of President George H. W. Bush , traveled abroad with Sun Myung Moon of the Unification Church as he promoted a proposal to dig a transportation corridor beneath the Bering Strait. When questioned by Mother Jones during

150-495: A narrow gravel road. In 2014, China was considering construction of a US-Canada-Russia-China 350 km/h (220 mph) bullet train that would include a 200-kilometer (120 mi) undersea tunnel crossing the Bering Strait and would allow passengers to travel between the United States and China in about two days. Although the press was skeptical of the project, China's state-run China Daily claimed that China possessed

200-497: A non-profit institution organized to further this proposal. At that time he made a feasibility study of a Bering Strait bridge and estimated the cost to be $ 1 billion for the 80 km (50 mi) span. In 1994 he updated the cost to more than $ 4 billion. Like Gilpin, Lin envisioned the project as a symbol of international cooperation and unity, and dubbed the project the Intercontinental Peace Bridge. According to

250-757: A report in the Beijing Times in May 2014, Chinese transport experts had proposed building a roughly 10,000-kilometer (6,200 mi) high-speed rail line from northeast China to the United States. The project would include a tunnel under the Bering Strait and connect to the contiguous United States via Wales, Alaska , along the river to Fairbanks, Alaska , and along the Alaska Highway to Edmonton , Alberta, Canada. Several American entrepreneurs have also advanced private-sector proposals, such as an Alaska-based limited-liability company InterBering founded in 2010 to lobby for

300-855: A road bridge with gas and oil pipelines between the easternmost point of Siberia and the westernmost point of Alaska. It would link London and New York by rail and superhighway via Russia if it were to go ahead. China's Belt and Road Initiative has similar plans, so the project would work in parallel for both countries. 65°47′N 169°01′W  /  65.783°N 169.017°W  / 65.783; -169.017 Diomede Islands The Diomede Islands ( / ˌ d aɪ . ə ˈ m iː d iː / ; Russian : острова́ Диоми́да , romanized :  ostrova Diomida ), also known in Russia as Gvozdev Islands ( Russian : острова́ Гво́здева , romanized :  ostrova Gvozdeva ), consist of two rocky, mesa -like islands: The Diomede Islands are located in

350-534: A route similar to that of the Iditarod Trail Race . A project to connect Nome , 160 kilometers (100 mi) from the strait, to the rest of Alaska by a paved highway (part of Alaska Route 2) has been proposed by the Alaskan state government, although the very high cost ($ 2.3 to $ 2.7 billion, about $ 3 million per kilometer, or $ 5 million per mile) has so far prevented construction. In 2016, the Alaskan road network

400-473: Is 111 miles (179 km) northwest of Nome . According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of 2.8 square miles (7.3 km ), all of it land. Wales first appeared on the 1880 U.S. Census as the unincorporated Inuit village of "Kingigamute." It was returned in 1890 as "Kingaghee." In 1900 and 1910, it was returned as Cape Prince of Wales (Settlements). In 1920, it

450-635: Is a city in the Nome Census Area , Alaska , United States . At the 2010 census the population was 145, down from 152 in 2000. It is the westernmost city on the North American mainland, although Adak , located on Adak Island , is the westernmost city in Alaska. Wales Airport serves Wales with flights on Bering Air and Ravn Alaska to Nome . A burial mound from the Birnirk culture (CE 500 to 900)

500-460: Is centered on the west side of the island at the village of Diomede . Big Diomede Island is the easternmost point of Russia. The Diomede Islands are often mentioned as likely intermediate stops for the hypothetical bridge or tunnel ( Bering Strait crossing ) spanning the Bering Strait . During winter, an ice bridge usually spans the distance between these two islands. At these times, it

550-538: Is chosen as a bridge, it would probably connect Wales, Alaska , to a location south of Uelen . The bridge would also likely be divided by the Diomede Islands, which are at the middle of the Bering Strait. In 1994, Lin estimated the cost of a bridge to be "a few billion" dollars. The roads and railways on each side were estimated to cost $ 50 billion. Lin contrasted this cost to petroleum resources "worth trillions". Discovery Channel 's Extreme Engineering estimates

SECTION 10

#1733084858063

600-754: Is higher than by ship (except for expensive cargo where lead time is important). In 2013, the Amur Yakutsk Mainline connecting the Yakutsk railway (2,800 km or 1,700 mi from the strait) with the Trans-Siberian Railway was completed. However, this railway is meant for freight and is too curvy for high-speed passenger trains. Future projects include the Lena–Kamchatka Mainline  [ ru ] and Kolyma–Anadyr highway . The Kolyma–Anadyr highway has started construction, but will be

650-631: Is just south of the Arctic Circle , and the location has long, dark winters and extreme weather, including average winter lows of −20 °C (−4 °F) and temperatures approaching −50 °C (−58 °F) in cold snaps. This would mean that construction work would likely be restricted to five months of the year, around May to September, and centered during summer . The weather also poses challenges to exposed steel. In Lin's design, concrete covers all structures, to simplify maintenance and to offer additional stiffening. Although there are no icebergs in

700-630: Is located at 65°36′44″N 168°5′21″W  /  65.61222°N 168.08917°W  / 65.61222; -168.08917 (65.612116, −168.089285). Wales is located on the westernmost point of the American mainland , Cape Prince of Wales , on the western tip of the Seward Peninsula . It is at the northern end of the Continental Divide where the Pacific Ocean and Arctic Ocean meet. It

750-423: Is not known how those events have affected strategic concerns relating to the proposed crossing, which would facilitate access by Russia to North America. Even before the invasion, commentators on the proposed link have flagged strategic military concerns as a factor in any decision to build the crossing. The straight distance between Russia and Alaska is 82.5 kilometers (51.3 mi). If building bridges and using

800-502: Is theoretically possible (although not legal, since travel between the two islands is forbidden ) to walk between the United States and Russia. The first European to reach the Bering Strait was the Russian explorer Semyon Dezhnev in 1648. He reported two islands whose natives had bone lip ornaments, but it is not certain that these were the Diomedes. Danish navigator Vitus Bering re-discovered

850-522: The 2010 census , entirely in the village site on the west side of the island, though the island as a whole comprises the city of Diomede. This village has a school, a post office and a store. Some residents are famous for their ivory carving . When weather permits, commercial air contact is maintained with the island as part of the US Essential Air Service . Wales, Alaska Wales ( Inupiaq : Kiŋigin , IPA: [kiŋiɣin] )

900-455: The 2011 Bering Sea superstorm . Wind gusts of 89 miles per hour (143 km/h) were recorded in Wales. On January 17, 2023, a polar bear entered the community of Wales and chased multiple residents. The bear fatally attacked a woman and her 1-year-old son. It was shot and killed by a local resident as it mauled the pair. This was Alaska's first reported polar bear attack in over 30 years. Wales

950-619: The Alaska Purchase uses the islands to designate the boundary between the two nations: the border separates "equidistantly Krusenstern Island, or Ignaluk, from Ratmanov Island, or Nunarbuk, and heads northward infinitely until it disappears completely in the Arctic Ocean." During the Cold War , that gap constituted the border between the United States and the Soviet Union , and became known as

1000-526: The Diomede Islands , the straight distance over water for the three parts would be 36.0 km (22.4 mi), 3.8 km (2.4 mi) and 36.8 km (22.9 mi), in total 76.6 km (47.6 mi). The depth of the water is a minor problem, as the strait is no deeper than 55 meters (180 ft), comparable to the English Channel . The tides and currents in the area are not severe. The route

1050-568: The International Date Line , Big Diomede is almost a day ahead of Little Diomede, but not completely; due to locally defined time zones, Big Diomede is only 21 hours ahead of Little Diomede (20 in summer). Because of this, the islands are sometimes called Tomorrow Island (Big Diomede) and Yesterday Island (Little Diomede). The islands are named for the Greek Saint Diomedes ; Danish-born Russian navigator Vitus Bering sighted

SECTION 20

#1733084858063

1100-534: The United States from Russia . Proposed in 2007, the plan included provisions to build a 103-kilometer (64 mi) tunnel under the Bering Strait , which, if built, would become the longest tunnel in the world, surpassing the 60-kilometer (37 mi) Line 3 (Guangzhou Metro) tunnel . The tunnel would be part of a railway joining Yakutsk , the capital of the Russian republic of Yakutia , and Komsomolsk-on-Amur , in

1150-557: The " Ice Curtain ". In 1987, however, Lynne Cox swam from one island to the other, and was congratulated by both Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan for her feat. In summer 1995, British television actor and documentary presenter Michael Palin started his counterclockwise circumnavigation of the Pacific Rim , encompassing 18 countries, on Little Diomede Island, as part of the BBC series Full Circle . He intended to set foot on it again at

1200-509: The 50 households 38.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.0% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.0% were non-families. 40.0% of households were one person and 6.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 3.04 and the average family size was 4.43. The age distribution was 38.2% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 25.7% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 3.3% 65 or older. The median age

1250-541: The American proposal in 1905 (only as a permission, not much financing from the Czar). Its cost was estimated at $ 65 million and $ 300 million, including all the railroads. These hopes were dashed with the outbreak of the 1905 Russian Revolution followed by World War I . A Nazi plan to create a wide-gauge railroad called the Breitspurbahn was mooted to connect the cities of Europe, India, China and ultimately North America via

1300-525: The Bering Strait and across northeastern Siberia to Irkutsk via Cape Dezhnev , Verkhnekolymsk , and Yakutsk (around 5,000 km [3,100 mi] of railroad to build, plus over 3,000 km [1,900 mi] in North America). The proposal was for a 90-year lease, and exclusive mineral rights for 13 km (8 mi) each side of the right-of-way. It was debated by officials and finally turned down on March 20, 1907. Czar Nicholas II approved

1350-524: The Bering Strait between Chukotka, in the Russian far east, and Alaska. The cost was estimated as $ 66 billion. In late August 2011, at a conference in Yakutsk in eastern Russia, the plan was backed by some of President Dmitry Medvedev 's top officials, including Aleksandr Levinthal, the deputy federal representative for the Russian Far East. It would be a faster, safer, and cheaper way to move freight around

1400-409: The Bering Strait, ice floes up to 1.8 meters (6 ft) thick are in constant motion during certain seasons, which could produce forces on the order of 44 meganewtons (9,900,000 pounds-force ; 4,500 tonnes-force ) on a pier. Roads on either side of the strait would likely have to cross tundra , requiring either an unpaved road or some way to avoid the effects of permafrost . If the crossing

1450-543: The Bering Strait. At the same time the road on the Russian side was extended by building the 2,000-kilometer (1,200 mi) Kolyma Highway . In 1958, engineer Tung-Yen Lin suggested the construction of a bridge across the Bering Strait "to foster commerce and understanding between the people of the United States and the Soviet Union". Ten years later he organized the Inter-Continental Peace Bridge, Inc.,

1500-529: The Bering Strait. The railroad was never built. Interest was renewed during World War II with the completion in 1942–1943 of the Alaska Highway , linking the remote territory of Alaska with Canada and the continental United States . In 1942, the Foreign Policy Association envisioned the highway continuing to link with Nome near the Bering Strait, linked by highway to the railhead at Irkutsk , using an alternative sea-and-air ferry service across

1550-528: The Diomede Islands on 16 August ( O.S. , 27 August N.S. ) 1728, the day on which the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of the saint. The islands are separated by an international border, which also defines the International Date Line in that area, about 2 km (1.2 mi) from each island, at 168°58'37"W. At their closest points, the two islands are about 3.8 km (2.4 mi) apart. The small habitation on Little Diomede Island

Bering Strait crossing - Misplaced Pages Continue

1600-480: The Diomede Islands while leading a Russian expedition on 16 August (O.S., 26 August N.S.) 1728, the day when the Russian Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of the martyr St. Diomede (hence, the name of the islands). In 1732, a Russian geodesist , Mikhail Gvozdev , determined longitude and latitude for the two islands. The text of the 1867 treaty between the United States and Russia which finalized

1650-552: The International Date Line was moved to the east of Kiribati and that country's easternmost time zone ( GMT+14 ) is now the world's earliest. After they established a military base there in 1948, the Soviet government relocated the indigenous population of Big Diomede Island to mainland Russia. The island is now inhabited only by military units. Little Diomede had an Inupiat population of 170, which had declined to 115 at

1700-526: The Koreas uses standard gauge of 1435 millimeters. Russia uses the slightly broader Russian gauge of 1520 mm. Solutions to this break of gauge include: The TKM–World Link ( Russian : ТрансКонтинентальная магистраль, English : Transcontinental Railway), also called ICL-World Link (Intercontinental link), was a planned 6,000-kilometer (3,700 mi) link between Siberia and Alaska to deliver oil, natural gas, electricity, and rail passengers to

1750-567: The Republican primary campaign of his brother Jeb Bush a decade later in 2015, he denied having supported the tunnel project and said that he had traveled with Moon because he supported "efforts by faith leaders to call their flock into service to others." Proposals to build a crossing predate the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the Russian-Ukrainian War , which started in February 2022. It

1800-433: The Russian Far East, with the western coast of Alaska . The Bering Strait tunnel was estimated to cost between $ 10 billion and $ 12 billion, while the entire project was estimated to cost $ 65 billion. In 2008, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin approved the plan to build a railway to the Bering Strait area, as a part of the development plan to run until 2030. The more than 100-kilometer (60 mi) tunnel would run under

1850-414: The cost of a highway, electrified double-track high-speed rail, and pipelines at $ 105 billion (in 2007 US dollars), five times the original cost of the 1994 50-kilometer (31 mi) Channel Tunnel . This excludes the cost of new roads and railways to reach the bridge. Aside from the technical challenges of building two 40-kilometer (25 mi) bridges or a more than 80-kilometer (50 mi) tunnel across

1900-607: The end of his eight-month trek, but was unable to do so because of rough seas. Big Diomede Island was traditionally the easternmost landmass before the International Date Line, and the first landmass to ring in a new year, if using local solar time . When using official time, however, a large area in eastern Russia and New Zealand also share the same time zone. New Zealand also has daylight saving time in effect during late December, but Russia does not (see time in New Zealand and time in Russia ). This became moot in 1995, however, when

1950-516: The middle of the Bering Strait between mainland Alaska and Siberia . If marginal seas are considered, then they are the northernmost islands within the entire Pacific Ocean. To the north is the Chukchi Sea and to the south is the Bering Sea . Fairway Rock , 9.3 km (5.8 mi) to the southeast, is also Alaskan, but generally not seen as part of the Diomede Islands. Because they are separated by

2000-485: The necessary technology. It was unknown who was expected to pay for the construction, although China had in other projects offered to build and finance them, and expected the money back in the end through fees or rents. In 2015, another possible collaboration between China and Russia was reported, part of the Trans-Eurasian Belt Development, a transportation corridor across Siberia that would also include

2050-559: The press that the Russian government would back a US$ 65 billion plan by a consortium of companies to build a Bering Strait tunnel. The concept of an overland connection crossing the Bering Strait goes back before the 20th century. William Gilpin , first governor of the Colorado Territory , envisaged a vast " Cosmopolitan Railway " in 1890 linking the entire world through a series of railways. Two years later, Joseph Strauss , who went on to design over 400 bridges, and then serve as

Bering Strait crossing - Misplaced Pages Continue

2100-522: The project engineer for the Golden Gate Bridge , put forward the first proposal for a Bering Strait rail bridge in his senior thesis. The project was presented to the government of the Russian Empire , but it was rejected. In 1904, a syndicate of American railroad magnates proposed (through a French spokesman) a Siberian–Alaskan railroad from Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska through a tunnel under

2150-521: The strait, another major challenge is that, as of 2022, there is nothing on either side of the Bering Strait to connect the bridge to. The Russian side of the strait, in particular, is severely lacking in infrastructure. No railways exist for over 2,800 kilometers (1,700 mi) in any direction from the strait. The nearest major connecting highway is the M56 Kolyma Highway , which is currently unpaved and around 2,000 kilometers (1,200 mi) from

2200-614: The strait. However, by 2042, the Anadyr Highway is expected to be completed connecting Ola and Anadyr , which is only about 600 kilometers (370 mi) from the strait. On the U.S. side, an estimated 1,200 kilometers (750 mi) of highways or railroads would have to be built around Norton Sound , through a pass along the Unalakleet River , and along the Yukon River to connect to Manley Hot Springs Road – in other words,

2250-431: The world than container ships, supporters of the idea believed. They estimated it could carry about 3% of global freight and make about $ 7 billion a year. Shortly after, the Russian government approved the construction of the $ 65 billion Siberia-Alaska rail and tunnel across the Bering Strait. Observers doubt that the rail link would be cheaper than ship, bearing in mind that the cost for rail transport from China to Europe

2300-435: Was 26 years. For every 100 females, there were 111.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 141.0 males. The median household income was $ 33,333 and the median family income was $ 39,583. Males had a median income of $ 29,375 versus $ 22,188 for females. The per capita income for the city was $ 14,877. About 17.2% of families and 18.3% of the population were below the poverty line , including 26.2% of those under

2350-526: Was discovered near Wales and is now a National Historic Landmark . In 1827, a Russian Navy report listed the Inupiat villages of "Eidamoo" near the coast and "King-a-ghe" inland in the area. In 1890, the American Missionary Association established a mission at the site of present-day Wales. In the 1890s, reindeer (domesticated caribou) were brought to the area and in 1894 a reindeer station

2400-415: Was established. Wales became an important whaling center due to its location along whale migratory routes, and it was the region's largest and most prosperous village, with more than 500 residents. Wales is named after the country Wales . The 1918 flu pandemic decimated the population and economy of Wales. In 2002 a wind-diesel system became operational. On November 9, 2011, the city experienced

2450-518: Was extended westwards by 80 kilometers (50 mi) to Tanana , 740 kilometers (460 mi) from the strait, by building a fairly simple road. The Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities project was supported by local indigenous groups such as the Tanana Tribal Council. Another complicating factor is the different track gauges in use. Mainline rail in the US, Canada, China, and

2500-561: Was shortened to its present name of Wales. It formally incorporated in 1964. At the 2000 census there were 152 people in 50 households, including 28 families, in the city. The population density was 53.9 inhabitants per square mile (20.8/km ). There were 59 housing units at an average density of 20.9 per square mile (8.1/km ). The racial makeup of the city was 8.55% White, 0.66% Black or African American, 83.55% (127 people) Native American, 0.66% from other races, and 6.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.66%. Of

#62937