A Transatlantic Tunnel, Hurrah! by Harry Harrison

will plus plenty of suspicion it will not—we will reach the midpoint in the At-lantic at the same time, hopefully, as the British tunnel arrives, in some-thing in the neighborhood of 105,000 days. That, gentlemen, is a bit over two-hundred years.”
    Rightly enough there was a mur-mur of dismay over this and some quick calculations on the scratch pads.
    “The figure is a disheartening one I agree, and most investors care for a quicker return, but happily it is not the final one. What I suggest is that we replace the technique we are now using which will speed the process greatly, while at the same time giv-ing a great lift to the American econ-omy in all spheres; shipbulding, steel, engineering, and many more.
    And it will reduce the time needed for construction as well.
    “Reduce it to about ten years’ time.”
    Not surprisingly, there was instant consternation over this statement as well as excitement and one man’s voice rose above the roar and spoke for them all.
    “How, I want to know, just tell me how!”
    The hubbub died away as Wash-ington took a drawing from his case and unfolded it and held it up for their inspection.
    “This is how. You will note that this is a section of tunnel some ninety feet in length and constructed of reinforced concrete. It contains two rail tunnels, side by side, and a smaller service tunnel below. This is what the tunnel we are driving now looks like. The smaller tunnel is known as an adit and is driven first. In this manner we can test the rock and soil that we shall be digging through and know what problems face the larger tunnels. These tunnels are driven side by side and are con-nected at intervals by cross cham-bers. All in all a complex and techni-cal manner to tunnel and we should be very happy with the thirty feet a day we have been averaging. Except for the fact that we have thousands of miles to go.
    Therefore I suggest what may appear to be novel and untried, but let me assure you that this technique has been tried and found true in this country, in the tun-nels under Delaware Bay and the Mississippi River and in other parts of the world such as Hong Kong H arbor.
    “The technique is this: the tunnel is preformed and precast and built in sections ashore—then floated to the site and sunk. Built under the best conditions possible, tested for defects, left to cure and set, and only then allowed to become a part of the tunnel.
    “Can you gentlemen visualize what this will mean? All along the Atlantic seaboard and in the Gulf of Mexico shipyards and newly constructed facilities will be pre-fabricating the sections—even in the Great Lakes and on the Saint Law-rence River the yards will be busy. Vast amounts of steel and concrete will be needed almost at once—it goes without saying that those who have invested in steel and concrete stand to make a good deal of money. Contracts will be let to anyone who can prove he will supply the goods. The economy of this nation cannot help but be vitalized by an economic injection of such magnitude. The tunnel will be built, and in the build-ing thereof this great country of ours will be built anew!”
    There were cheers at that, for Gus had fired them with his own enthusiasm and they believed him. There was even more scribbling on pads and quick looks at the Wall Street Journal to see what the condition of steel and concrete stocks were; already some of the men were using their pocket telegraphs to get in touch with their brokers. A feeling of new life had swept the room and there were very few, one individual in particular, who did not share in the overriding enthusiasm. When the noise had died down Macintosh spoke.
    “Sir Isambard must be notified of this suggestion. Nothing can be done without his approval.”
    Loud catcalls mixed with boos greeted this suggestion and it was Sir Winthrop who spoke to the point.
    “I do not think that will be neces-sary. The financing of the tunnel is in trouble or this special meeting would not