§ Mr. Lubbockasked the Minister of Transport what assessment he has made of the amounts of steel which would be required for a Channel bridge and a Channel tunnel, respectively.
§ Mr. MarplesI understand that the project put forward by the Channel Bridge Study Group is expected to require some 800,000 tons of structural steel. The bored tunnel proposed by the Channel Tunnel Study Group requires the use of concrete as its main structural material and steel would not therefore be required in significant amounts. Each project provides for a railway which, on the basis proposed by the Groups, might require some 8,000 tons of steel in the case of the Bridge and 16,000 tons in the case of the Tunnel.