Astérapolis Bridge-Tunnel

Proposed route of the Asterapolis Bridge-Tunnel. (1694 AN)

The Astérapolis Bridge-Tunnel is a proposed megaproject as part of the Pan-Euran Highway in Constancia that aims to build a 312.65 km bridge-tunnel system that consists of three cable-stayed bridges, an undersea tunnel, and several artificial islands that will cross the Gulf of Aqaba, connecting the city of Astérapolis, on the island of Idolgi.

The proposed bridge-tunnel project is designed to provide uninterrupted freeway traffic flow, as opposed to the current configuration where a system of ferries and transports constantly ferried freight and passengers back and forth between Astérapolis and the rest of the country. The estimate cost of the project remains undisclosed, but it is general estimated to be €107.16 billion New Alexandrian écu.

First proposed in 1691 AN, the project met with prominent opposition by the owner of one of the largest ferry companies in Astérapolis, Thanasis Agnakos of Agnakos Transport, who believed competition from a publicly owned bridge would reduce revenue for his company and for the Astérapolis ferry transport industry. The project was shelved as Agnakos continued to pursue legal recourse in the Constancian courts, forcing parties to spend greatly to defend their claims. Agnakos even filed lawsuits in Nouvelle Alexandrie, as the project had gained significant interest and support from investors of that country.

In 1693 AN, the Thraci expansion led to relations with the rest of the Pan-Euran Highway participants souring, dashing the hopes of securing the initial route which connected through the Thraci Confederation. During diplomatic talks in Fontainebleau, Alduria, the route of the Pan-Euran Highway was revised to pass through the Southern Aldurian Riviera and enter Constancia north of Arak. In 1684 AN, soon after announcing the new capital, Petropolis, the Autokrator of Constancia appointed a consortium, the Astérapolis Bridge-Tunnel Consortium, to design and build the bridge-tunnel system, with heavy financial and technical support from Nouvelle Alexandrie and private firms. The project is not fully funded, though it has secured funding from the governments of Constancia and Nouvelle Alexandrie for its design and to plan the project.

Design

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  Cross-section of tunnel design (1694 AN).

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  Design of support trestles for the bridge portions of the design (1694 AN).

Astérapolis Bridge-Tunnel Consortium

The Astérapolis Bridge-Tunnel Consortium (ABTC) is a multi-national corporation that is a public-private partnership between Nouvelle Alexandrie, Constancia, the Suren Confederacy, and 28 private contractors and companies in all of those nations. The Euran Economic Union and its headquarters at Fontainebleau, Nouvelle Alexandrie serves as the meeting place for the ABTC and its officials and representatives. The Constortium has been made responsible for administering the construction of the Astérapolis Bridge-Tunnel. Once the bridge is complete, the ABTC will also manage the bridge-tunnel system's operation, including setting and collecting tolls.

Criticisms

White elephant project

Critics in Constancia and in Nouvelle Alexandrie have attacked the estimated cost of the project as too much, that it is a waste of taxpayers’ money. To support their arguments, they point to the early designs of the bridge-tunnel system, which proposes to prescribe restrictive criteria for drivers to use the bridge with their own vehicle.

See also

• Pan-Euran Highway;
• Asterapolis;
• Gulf of Aqaba.