The Intercontinental Peace Bridge is a proposed/envisioned bridge spanning the Bering Strait between Cape Dezhnev, Siberia, Russia, with Cape Prince of Wales, Alaska. Although there exist no real plans to construct the bridge at this point, the benefit in doing so is clear. The Bering Strait could be spanned by a series of 3 bridges via the Diomede Islands for a total distance of approximately 50 miles. Although the longest bridge of the three could be in excess of 25 miles (compare to the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, comprised of two segments of 23.86 and 23.87 miles each, the longest in the world) such a bridge would provide an overland connection linking five of the seven continents of the world: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America and South America.

The concept of an overland connection crossing the Bering Strait is by no means a new one. William Gilpin , the first governor of the Colorado Territory envisioned a vast Cosmopolitan Railway in 1890 linking the entire world via a series of railways. Two years later a young Joseph Strauss, a famed engineer who would during his career design over 400 bridges, would design the first concept for a massive railroad bridge spanning the Bering Strait for his senior thesis. No copies of Strauss' proposal exist to this day, although it was said to have been massive and sweeping in scope as well as ludicrous and impossible in design. Though Strauss would never go on to build this vision, he would be the chief designer of what is perhaps the world's most famous of all bridges, the Golden Gate Bridge.

By 1907 any serious proposals or considerations for a railway bridge crossing the straight had essentially died off. Interest in a possible Bering Strait crossing was renewed in 1943 with the completion of the Alaska Highway linking the remote territory of Alaska with the Continental United States. Alaskans envisioned the highway continuing on to link up with the western town of Nome and beyond. At the time, an undersea tunnel was envisioned rather than a bridge, although again, no serious proposals to undertake the project came to light.

The proposal to build an automobile bridge over the strait would gain its first real support in 1968 when engineer T. Y. Lin organized a nonprofit organization to study the feasibility of such a project. At the time, Lin estimated that the bridge could cost in excess of $4 billion. Like Gilpin's Cosmopolitan Railway, Lin envisioned the project as more than simply a bridge but as a symbol of international cooperation and unity. As a part of his global vision, Lin has also proposed, among other bridges, another massive connection spanning the Strait of Gibraltar. Lin's proposal for the Intercontinental Peace Bridge would have to wait until 1990 when the Cold War was ending and the possibility of a cooperative project linking the East with the West seemed more real.

Although Lin passed away in 2003, his idea has not died with him. Indeed, several others have also advocated the concept of a bridge crossing the Bering Strait. Russian railway engineer Anatoly Cherkasov has recently revived the notion of a rail bridge linking the continents, indicating an interest on this project exists on both sides of the globe. Indeed, the concept of a Bering Bridge being a railway bridge as opposed to an automobile bridge seems to be gaining more support in recent times, although serious proposals have yet to be considered.

The construction and maintenance of a bridge over the Bering Strait, whether highway or railway, does present a number of unique technical dilemmas. The route would lie just south of the Arctic Circle, and as such would be subjected to long periods of darkness during the winter months. Additionally the Bering Strait is subject to extreme weather conditions, with winter nighttime lows dropping to an average of nearly -20°C, with possible lows approaching -50°C, making maintenance of rails or roadway surfaces both common and difficult, and the bridge would likely suffer numerous closures during bad weather in the winter. Coupled with the enormous cost of such a project, the difficulty in building and maintaining it due to the conditions have been factors preventing its construction during the last century. Many engineers are confident, however, that new technologies being developed in modern times will allow for the construction of a bridge that would nearly complete a global overland network, which is more than enough incentive to keep the concept alive.

External Links

• Alaska History Society Article
• Discovery Channel's Extreme Engineering