A job for Eliza Jane?

Published on Tuesday 8 January 2008 20:19

Eliza Jane is the name given to the tunnel boring machine that has just completed the five-mile tunnel of the Glendoe hydro scheme (your report, 8 January).

Instead of spending 4.2 billion on a new Forth bridge, why not just send her there and start cutting a tunnel under the Forth? If anybody doubts this is practical, look at Norway, where, in the past two decades, they have built 704km of tunnels, mostly costing 3.5 million per km and some running as much as 20km underwater.

Surely this would be more practical than shuffling paper until 2012 and then starting building. Can anybody in authority say why this bridge is going to cost 4.2 billion when the last one cost 19.5 million (equal to 314 million in today's money), let alone why we cannot have a tunnel at an even better price?

NEIL CRAIG

Woodlands Road

Glasgow