Albert Mathieu News

A motorway under the sea between Britain and France was mooted last week in a study issued by Eurotunnel Plc on a second cross-channel link. Almost 200 years after a Channel road link was first presented to Napoleon by French engineer Albert Mathieu, Eurotunnel's study envisages cars zooming along a four-lane highway. But with the existing rail tunnel struggling to make money, a new one may never happen. Millions of passengers, cars and trucks have sped underwater since Britain's Queen Elizabeth and President Francois Mitterrand opened the Channel Tunnel in 1994. By launching a road link, Eurotunnel could cut car journey times by half, analysts said. Under its original concession agreement, Channel Tunnel operator Eurotunnel had until 2000 to submit a study for a second road link.

In a move that was sure to please the ferry companies servicing the English Channel, a motorway under the sea between Britain and France was mooted last week in a study issued by Eurotunnel Plc on a second cross-channel link. Almost 200 years after a Channel road link was first presented to Napoleon by French engineer Albert Mathieu, Eurotunnel's study envisages cars zooming along a four-lane highway. But with the existing rail tunnel struggling to make money, a new one may never happen.