---
title: The Big Problem with a Bering Strait Crossing
description: "As different as the U.S. and Russia may seem, there's not much that divides the two countries. Just fifty-three miles, or eighty-three kilometers, to be exact.\n\nThe Bering Strait, the smallest divide between the U.S. and Russia, is a narrow strip of water that separates Alaska from Siberia. During the last ice age, about eleven thousand years ago, water levels dropped low enough to form a land bridge between the two continents. Known as Beringea, this geographical phenomenon allowed humans and animals to migrate across, then it promptly disappeared with rising sea levels.\n\nProposals for a railway tunnel and highway bridge to span its width have brought focus back on the strait since the industrial age. This proposed megaproject has spurred much interest since it was first proposed in the late 19th century. Now, nearly 200 years later, the plan's supporters are just as enthusiastic about seeing it completed as ever, even if the plan itself is nowhere closer to being reality.\n\nBut enough teasing, let's get strait to the point: today we will take a look at the Bering Strait Crossing, the attempt to connect America and Russia.\n\n## History\n\nIn 1846, the governor of the Colorado territories proposed a \"Cosmopolitan Railway\" that would start in Colorado, go up to the Western shores of Alaska, and link all the continents together via the Bering Strait.\n\nIn 1890, the designer of the Golden Gate bridge used his college thesis to draw up blueprints for a Siberian-Alaskan railway bridge. In 1906, Tsar Nicholas II even proposed a Bering Strait Bridge Project, but it was abandoned at the onset of World War I.\n\nAfter the Bolshevik Revolution brought the communist party to power, relations between the U.S. and Russia took a turn for the worse for much of the twentieth century.\n\nCalls for a bridge or tunnel to be built continued on during this time from both Russian and American scientists, engineers, and businessmen. For example, in the 1960s, Chinese-American engineer Tung Yen Lin drew up plans for an International Peace Bridge to span the gap between the divided countries.\n\nAs the diplomatic ice age of the Cold War thawed and relations between America and Russia improved, more serious calls brought together like minds in support of the connection. Their wants were not outlandish. After all, projects of similar scale had been completed before.\n\nThe Suez Canal was completed in 1869. The Panama Canal was built in 1914. The English Channel tunnel was completed in 1994.\n\nMegaprojects had built the world of the 20th century. Massive skyscrapers filled cities. Newer modes of transportation were taking humans around the world. And infrastructure projects connected parts of the world long viewed as far apart. As the 21st century rolled around, people began asking why we couldn't do the same in the Bering Strait.\n\nParticipants of an international conference in Moscow in 2007 lobbied member-nations of the G8 to make it a priority.\n\nIn 2009, the administration of then-Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, conducted studies for the feasibility of rail transit to a Bering Strait tunnel.\n\nIn 2015, Vladimir Yakunin, head of Russian Railways, unveiled detailed plans he had drawn up of a high-speed railway system through Siberia, ending at the mouth of a tunnel that would, ideally, connect to Alaska.\n\n## Design\n\nThe idea of a Bering Strait connection has cropped up many times over the years. The two forms it often takes is of a railway tunnel or of a highway bridge. Various companies have put forth plans or offered funding for the project many times. But the ideas seldom make it out of the planning stage.\n\nGiven how the ideas for a bridge or tunnel frequently switch, the discussion around this megaproject often lumps the two together. However, to make it practical, the project would only be able to include one of the two.\n\nNo matter what the final project ends up including, the implications of it are exciting to consider. It could mean a truly worldwide rail network, or car travel from New York to London or even Miami to Johannesburg being possible.\n\nWhat makes this ambitious project possible are two small islands that sit in the middle of the Bering Strait. These two neighboring islands would serve as anchor points for the bridge or as exhaust outlets and stations for the railway tunnel along the 50-plus mile-long expanse.\n\nThe proposed plans for the railway tunnel, as they stand today, often use the English Channel tunnel as a comparison. Although the Bering Strait is more than twice the length, its deepest point is around 200 feet (58 meters), which is comparable to that of its European counterpart.\n\n## Funding Challenges\n\nBuilding the tunnel or the bridge alone would cost around $25 to $100 billion. But the two options are only part of a bigger picture. For example, if the plan moved forward with the railway tunnel, the ideal endpoint would be a worldwide railroad network: an international system that would connect all the major rail lines of the world from Europe to Asia to North America. The idea for a \"Cosmopolitan Railway\" proposed by the Colorado Territories governor all those years ago has stuck around. This Bering Strait connection would serve as just a link in the bigger chain. Estimates of the cost of this worldwide railroad network exceed $1 trillion.\n\nAccording to proponents of the project, oil pipelines would accompany the connection. This, and increased transport along the route, would allow Russia, the U.S. and Canada to exchange millions more barrels of oil.\n\nSupporters cite the revenue brought in from the increased energy and oil trade as a source of funding that could help the project pay for itself.\n\n## Logistical Challenges\n\nThe land on either side of the Bering Strait is known for its frozen, barren, untouched wilderness. This means it has a conspicuous lack of roads and railways leading to the points where the tunnel or the bridge would start.\n\nOver 12,500 miles of new roads or railroads would need to be built. For the highway bridge to work, the first step would be to extend the current northernmost point of the Alaskan Highway in Fairbanks to the western shores of Nome, 250 miles away. Building a road between the two cities would mean spanning more than half the state of Alaska with a road through icy, desolate terrain.\n\nThe railway system in western Alaska is not much better.\n\nAnd that's not to mention the extensive railway or highway systems that would need to span Siberia as well. The Chukotka region of Russia is slightly larger than Texas, but only contains around 50,000 people. This means that existing infrastructure is almost nonexistent. The closest Russian railway to the Bering Strait is over two thousand miles away. The closest road is better, at only fifteen hundred miles, but it is unpaved.\n\nThis is when the proponents of the project step in again. According to some sources, the Russian government is planning to expand railway networks into the Siberian provinces.\n\nA prime example: Moscow and Beijing started the construction of a high-speed railway line that will connect the two cities. This railway would measure about 4,340 miles (7,000 km) and would traverse the tundra of Siberia.\n\nDr. Hal Cooper is an infrastructure expert and one of the project's most outspoken proponents. He claims that though the entire worldwide railroad network project will total over $1 trillion, \"that's as much as the U.S. will spend on the Iraq War, for which there will be no measurable benefit for anyone.\"\n\nOr, as *The Atlantic* magazine puts it, connecting the two continents brings together cultures with different civic values.\n\nThese opposing values have proven to be another barrier to the project. Though relations have thawed in the time since the end of the Cold War, they have recently regained an icy edge.\n\n## Environmental Challenges\n\nBut what often gets overlooked in the face of infrastructure, funding, and diplomacy is a megaproject's effect on the environment. As the Beringea land bridge played an important role in the migration of humans and land animals all those thousands of years ago, the Bering Strait does the same for marine life today.\n\nSea mammals ranging from whales to seals depend on the Bering Strait for their migration patterns. Extensive construction and new obstacles, like bridge pillars or tunnel ventilation shafts, could disturb these patterns. This risks causing an unpredictable effect on the ocean food chain.\n\nFish populations in the Bering Strait area serve as a source of sustenance for the indigenous communities. These communities have lived in the area for thousands of years. Disturbing fish populations could upset the indigenous food source and disrupt their rituals.\n\nMarine life wouldn't be the only wildlife affected. Land animals and their habitats would also face disruption. New roads or railways, years of construction work, and increased transport through the region would all bring changes.\n\nWith that increased transport would come increased emissions. Changes like this would release significant pollution to an area largely untouched by modern infrastructure.\n\nHowever, preemptive studies to examine the effects of the project on the surrounding wildlife and habitats could mitigate much of the feared damage. Altering the design of the bridge and tunnel to have as little impact on the land and marine ecosystems as possible would also lessen any negative effects. And for the construction process itself, using methods to help noise reduction and strategies to avoid soil erosion could help mitigate much of its impact.\n\nThough this project faces many considerable obstacles and is decades away from being a reality, the idea has stuck around for over a century now. The Bering Strait connection has the potential to bring the economies, infrastructure, and cultures of not just two countries, but two continents closer together.\n\n## Key Takeaways\n\n- The Bering Strait, just 53 miles wide, has been proposed for a railway tunnel or highway bridge.\n- Historical proposals for a Bering Strait crossing date back to the late 19th century.\n- The project faces significant funding challenges, with estimated costs ranging from $25 to $100 billion.\n- Logistical hurdles include building over 12,500 miles of new roads or railways in remote, icy terrains.\n- Environmental concerns involve potential disruptions to marine life migration patterns and indigenous communities.\n\n## Frequently Asked Questions\n\n### What is the Bering Strait?\n\nThe Bering Strait is a narrow strip of water that separates Alaska from Siberia, spanning just fifty-three miles or eighty-three kilometers.\n\n### What is the history of proposals for a Bering Strait Crossing?\n\nProposals for a railway tunnel and highway bridge to span the Bering Strait have been discussed since the late 19th century. Notable proposals include a 'Cosmopolitan Railway' in 1846, a Siberian-Alaskan railway bridge in 1890, and a Bering Strait Bridge Project proposed by Tsar Nicholas II in 1906.\n\n### What are the two main forms the Bering Strait Crossing has been proposed in?\n\nThe Bering Strait Crossing has been proposed as either a railway tunnel or a highway bridge.\n\n### What are the funding challenges associated with the Bering Strait Crossing?\n\nBuilding the tunnel or the bridge alone would cost around $25 to $100 billion. The total cost for a worldwide railroad network, including the Bering Strait connection, is estimated to exceed $1 trillion.\n\n### What are the logistical challenges for the Bering Strait Crossing?\n\nThe land on either side of the Bering Strait is largely untouched wilderness with a lack of roads and railways. Over 12,500 miles of new roads or railroads would need to be built, and existing infrastructure in the region is almost nonexistent.\n\n### What environmental challenges does the Bering Strait Crossing face?\n\nThe project could disturb migration patterns of marine life, affect indigenous communities' food sources, disrupt land animal habitats, and increase emissions and pollution in the area.\n\n### What is the significance of the two small islands in the Bering Strait?\n\nThe two small islands in the middle of the Bering Strait would serve as anchor points for the bridge or as exhaust outlets and stations for the railway tunnel.\n\n### What is the potential economic impact of the Bering Strait Crossing?\n\nThe project could facilitate increased energy and oil trade between Russia, the U.S., and Canada, potentially generating significant revenue to help fund the project.\n\n### What is the historical significance of the Bering Strait?\n\nDuring the last ice age, about eleven thousand years ago, water levels dropped low enough to form a land bridge between the two continents, known as Beringea, which allowed humans and animals to migrate across.\n\n### What are the cultural and diplomatic challenges for the Bering Strait Crossing?\n\nThe project faces challenges due to differing civic values between the U.S. and Russia, as well as fluctuating diplomatic relations, which have recently regained an icy edge.\n\n## Sources\n\n- [Original MegaProjects video: The Big Problem with a Bering Strait Crossing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeZpueUwVLs)\n- [https://21sci-tech.com/Subscriptions/Spring%202007%20ONLINE/20_1-2_Bering_Strait.pdf](https://21sci-tech.com/Subscriptions/Spring%202007%20ONLINE/20_1-2_Bering_Strait.pdf)\n- [https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/07/superhighway-bering-strait-new-york-paris/397370/](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/07/superhighway-bering-strait-new-york-paris/397370/)\n- [http://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/trans-siberian-road/index.html](http://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/trans-siberian-road/index.html)\n- [https://www.readex.com/blog/russia-connection-historical-proposals-reestablish-land-link-across-bering-strait](https://www.readex.com/blog/russia-connection-historical-proposals-reestablish-land-link-across-bering-strait)\n- [https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3103997/bering-strait-tunnel-pipe-dream-or-game-changer-us-russia-china](https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3103997/bering-strait-tunnel-pipe-dream-or-game-changer-us-russia-china)\n- [https://digismak.com/the-peace-bridge-the-unfinished-megaproject-that-wants-to-unite-the-united-states-and-russia-since-the-19th-century/](https://digismak.com/the-peace-bridge-the-unfinished-megaproject-that-wants-to-unite-the-united-states-and-russia-since-the-19th-century/)\n- [https://boingboing.net/2019/05/07/why-no-one-is-going-to-build-a.html#:~:text=It%20would%20be%20very%20expensive,of%20the%20English%20Channel%20tunnel](https://boingboing.net/2019/05/07/why-no-one-is-going-to-build-a.html#:~:text=It%20would%20be%20very%20expensive,of%20the%20English%20Channel%20tunnel)\n- [https://www.scandinavian-architects.com/en/projects/view/architectural-design-concept-for-the-bering-strait-project-diomede-islands](https://www.scandinavian-architects.com/en/projects/view/architectural-design-concept-for-the-bering-strait-project-diomede-islands)\n- [https://www.nps.gov/bela/learn/nature/climate-change.htm](https://www.nps.gov/bela/learn/nature/climate-change.htm)\n- [Hero image source](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Pearl_of_Siberia_Shopping_Mall_in_Tobolsk_%28February_2023%29_-_1.jpg) by Vyacheslav Bukharov / openverse, by-sa.\n\n## Related Coverage"
url: https://megaprojects.pub/article/the-big-problem-with-a-bering-strait-crossing.md
canonical: https://megaprojects.pub/article/the-big-problem-with-a-bering-strait-crossing
datePublished: 2026-07-02
dateModified: 2026-07-02
author:
  - name: Simon Whistler
    url: https://megaprojects.pub/author/simon-whistler
publisher: MegaProjects
image: "https://media.megaprojects.pub/cdn-cgi/image/width=600,height=338,fit=cover,quality=80,format=auto/articles/TeZpueUwVLs/hero.jpg"
type: NewsArticle
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tokens: 3854
summaryUrl: https://megaprojects.pub/article/the-big-problem-with-a-bering-strait-crossing.md.summary.md
---

<!-- aeo:section start="lede" -->
As different as the U.S. and Russia may seem, there's not much that divides the two countries. Just fifty-three miles, or eighty-three kilometers, to be exact.

The Bering Strait, the smallest divide between the U.S. and Russia, is a narrow strip of water that separates Alaska from Siberia. During the last ice age, about eleven thousand years ago, water levels dropped low enough to form a land bridge between the two continents. Known as Beringea, this geographical phenomenon allowed humans and animals to migrate across, then it promptly disappeared with rising sea levels.

Proposals for a railway tunnel and highway bridge to span its width have brought focus back on the strait since the industrial age. This proposed megaproject has spurred much interest since it was first proposed in the late 19th century. Now, nearly 200 years later, the plan's supporters are just as enthusiastic about seeing it completed as ever, even if the plan itself is nowhere closer to being reality.

But enough teasing, let's get strait to the point: today we will take a look at the Bering Strait Crossing, the attempt to connect America and Russia.

<!-- aeo:section end="lede" -->
<!-- aeo:section start="history" -->
## History

In 1846, the governor of the Colorado territories proposed a "Cosmopolitan Railway" that would start in Colorado, go up to the Western shores of Alaska, and link all the continents together via the Bering Strait.

In 1890, the designer of the Golden Gate bridge used his college thesis to draw up blueprints for a Siberian-Alaskan railway bridge. In 1906, Tsar Nicholas II even proposed a Bering Strait Bridge Project, but it was abandoned at the onset of World War I.

After the Bolshevik Revolution brought the communist party to power, relations between the U.S. and Russia took a turn for the worse for much of the twentieth century.

Calls for a bridge or tunnel to be built continued on during this time from both Russian and American scientists, engineers, and businessmen. For example, in the 1960s, Chinese-American engineer Tung Yen Lin drew up plans for an International Peace Bridge to span the gap between the divided countries.

As the diplomatic ice age of the Cold War thawed and relations between America and Russia improved, more serious calls brought together like minds in support of the connection. Their wants were not outlandish. After all, projects of similar scale had been completed before.

The Suez Canal was completed in 1869. The Panama Canal was built in 1914. The English Channel tunnel was completed in 1994.

Megaprojects had built the world of the 20th century. Massive skyscrapers filled cities. Newer modes of transportation were taking humans around the world. And infrastructure projects connected parts of the world long viewed as far apart. As the 21st century rolled around, people began asking why we couldn't do the same in the Bering Strait.

Participants of an international conference in Moscow in 2007 lobbied member-nations of the G8 to make it a priority.

In 2009, the administration of then-Governor of Alaska, Sarah Palin, conducted studies for the feasibility of rail transit to a Bering Strait tunnel.

In 2015, Vladimir Yakunin, head of Russian Railways, unveiled detailed plans he had drawn up of a high-speed railway system through Siberia, ending at the mouth of a tunnel that would, ideally, connect to Alaska.

<!-- aeo:section end="history" -->
<!-- aeo:section start="design" -->
## Design

The idea of a Bering Strait connection has cropped up many times over the years. The two forms it often takes is of a railway tunnel or of a highway bridge. Various companies have put forth plans or offered funding for the project many times. But the ideas seldom make it out of the planning stage.

Given how the ideas for a bridge or tunnel frequently switch, the discussion around this megaproject often lumps the two together. However, to make it practical, the project would only be able to include one of the two.

No matter what the final project ends up including, the implications of it are exciting to consider. It could mean a truly worldwide rail network, or car travel from New York to London or even Miami to Johannesburg being possible.

What makes this ambitious project possible are two small islands that sit in the middle of the Bering Strait. These two neighboring islands would serve as anchor points for the bridge or as exhaust outlets and stations for the railway tunnel along the 50-plus mile-long expanse.

The proposed plans for the railway tunnel, as they stand today, often use the English Channel tunnel as a comparison. Although the Bering Strait is more than twice the length, its deepest point is around 200 feet (58 meters), which is comparable to that of its European counterpart.

<!-- aeo:section end="design" -->
<!-- aeo:section start="funding-challenges" -->
## Funding Challenges

Building the tunnel or the bridge alone would cost around $25 to $100 billion. But the two options are only part of a bigger picture. For example, if the plan moved forward with the railway tunnel, the ideal endpoint would be a worldwide railroad network: an international system that would connect all the major rail lines of the world from Europe to Asia to North America. The idea for a "Cosmopolitan Railway" proposed by the Colorado Territories governor all those years ago has stuck around. This Bering Strait connection would serve as just a link in the bigger chain. Estimates of the cost of this worldwide railroad network exceed $1 trillion.

According to proponents of the project, oil pipelines would accompany the connection. This, and increased transport along the route, would allow Russia, the U.S. and Canada to exchange millions more barrels of oil.

Supporters cite the revenue brought in from the increased energy and oil trade as a source of funding that could help the project pay for itself.

<!-- aeo:section end="funding-challenges" -->
<!-- aeo:section start="logistical-challenges" -->
## Logistical Challenges

The land on either side of the Bering Strait is known for its frozen, barren, untouched wilderness. This means it has a conspicuous lack of roads and railways leading to the points where the tunnel or the bridge would start.

Over 12,500 miles of new roads or railroads would need to be built. For the highway bridge to work, the first step would be to extend the current northernmost point of the Alaskan Highway in Fairbanks to the western shores of Nome, 250 miles away. Building a road between the two cities would mean spanning more than half the state of Alaska with a road through icy, desolate terrain.

The railway system in western Alaska is not much better.

And that's not to mention the extensive railway or highway systems that would need to span Siberia as well. The Chukotka region of Russia is slightly larger than Texas, but only contains around 50,000 people. This means that existing infrastructure is almost nonexistent. The closest Russian railway to the Bering Strait is over two thousand miles away. The closest road is better, at only fifteen hundred miles, but it is unpaved.

This is when the proponents of the project step in again. According to some sources, the Russian government is planning to expand railway networks into the Siberian provinces.

A prime example: Moscow and Beijing started the construction of a high-speed railway line that will connect the two cities. This railway would measure about 4,340 miles (7,000 km) and would traverse the tundra of Siberia.

Dr. Hal Cooper is an infrastructure expert and one of the project's most outspoken proponents. He claims that though the entire worldwide railroad network project will total over $1 trillion, "that's as much as the U.S. will spend on the Iraq War, for which there will be no measurable benefit for anyone."

Or, as *The Atlantic* magazine puts it, connecting the two continents brings together cultures with different civic values.

These opposing values have proven to be another barrier to the project. Though relations have thawed in the time since the end of the Cold War, they have recently regained an icy edge.

<!-- aeo:section end="logistical-challenges" -->
<!-- aeo:section start="environmental-challenges" -->
## Environmental Challenges

But what often gets overlooked in the face of infrastructure, funding, and diplomacy is a megaproject's effect on the environment. As the Beringea land bridge played an important role in the migration of humans and land animals all those thousands of years ago, the Bering Strait does the same for marine life today.

Sea mammals ranging from whales to seals depend on the Bering Strait for their migration patterns. Extensive construction and new obstacles, like bridge pillars or tunnel ventilation shafts, could disturb these patterns. This risks causing an unpredictable effect on the ocean food chain.

Fish populations in the Bering Strait area serve as a source of sustenance for the indigenous communities. These communities have lived in the area for thousands of years. Disturbing fish populations could upset the indigenous food source and disrupt their rituals.

Marine life wouldn't be the only wildlife affected. Land animals and their habitats would also face disruption. New roads or railways, years of construction work, and increased transport through the region would all bring changes.

With that increased transport would come increased emissions. Changes like this would release significant pollution to an area largely untouched by modern infrastructure.

However, preemptive studies to examine the effects of the project on the surrounding wildlife and habitats could mitigate much of the feared damage. Altering the design of the bridge and tunnel to have as little impact on the land and marine ecosystems as possible would also lessen any negative effects. And for the construction process itself, using methods to help noise reduction and strategies to avoid soil erosion could help mitigate much of its impact.

Though this project faces many considerable obstacles and is decades away from being a reality, the idea has stuck around for over a century now. The Bering Strait connection has the potential to bring the economies, infrastructure, and cultures of not just two countries, but two continents closer together.

<!-- aeo:section end="environmental-challenges" -->
<!-- aeo:section start="key-takeaways" -->
## Key Takeaways

- The Bering Strait, just 53 miles wide, has been proposed for a railway tunnel or highway bridge.
- Historical proposals for a Bering Strait crossing date back to the late 19th century.
- The project faces significant funding challenges, with estimated costs ranging from $25 to $100 billion.
- Logistical hurdles include building over 12,500 miles of new roads or railways in remote, icy terrains.
- Environmental concerns involve potential disruptions to marine life migration patterns and indigenous communities.

<!-- aeo:section end="key-takeaways" -->
<!-- aeo:section start="frequently-asked-questions" -->
## Frequently Asked Questions

### What is the Bering Strait?

The Bering Strait is a narrow strip of water that separates Alaska from Siberia, spanning just fifty-three miles or eighty-three kilometers.

### What is the history of proposals for a Bering Strait Crossing?

Proposals for a railway tunnel and highway bridge to span the Bering Strait have been discussed since the late 19th century. Notable proposals include a 'Cosmopolitan Railway' in 1846, a Siberian-Alaskan railway bridge in 1890, and a Bering Strait Bridge Project proposed by Tsar Nicholas II in 1906.

### What are the two main forms the Bering Strait Crossing has been proposed in?

The Bering Strait Crossing has been proposed as either a railway tunnel or a highway bridge.

### What are the funding challenges associated with the Bering Strait Crossing?

Building the tunnel or the bridge alone would cost around $25 to $100 billion. The total cost for a worldwide railroad network, including the Bering Strait connection, is estimated to exceed $1 trillion.

### What are the logistical challenges for the Bering Strait Crossing?

The land on either side of the Bering Strait is largely untouched wilderness with a lack of roads and railways. Over 12,500 miles of new roads or railroads would need to be built, and existing infrastructure in the region is almost nonexistent.

### What environmental challenges does the Bering Strait Crossing face?

The project could disturb migration patterns of marine life, affect indigenous communities' food sources, disrupt land animal habitats, and increase emissions and pollution in the area.

### What is the significance of the two small islands in the Bering Strait?

The two small islands in the middle of the Bering Strait would serve as anchor points for the bridge or as exhaust outlets and stations for the railway tunnel.

### What is the potential economic impact of the Bering Strait Crossing?

The project could facilitate increased energy and oil trade between Russia, the U.S., and Canada, potentially generating significant revenue to help fund the project.

### What is the historical significance of the Bering Strait?

During the last ice age, about eleven thousand years ago, water levels dropped low enough to form a land bridge between the two continents, known as Beringea, which allowed humans and animals to migrate across.

### What are the cultural and diplomatic challenges for the Bering Strait Crossing?

The project faces challenges due to differing civic values between the U.S. and Russia, as well as fluctuating diplomatic relations, which have recently regained an icy edge.

<!-- aeo:section end="frequently-asked-questions" -->
<!-- aeo:section start="sources" -->
## Sources

- [Original MegaProjects video: The Big Problem with a Bering Strait Crossing](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeZpueUwVLs)
- [https://21sci-tech.com/Subscriptions/Spring%202007%20ONLINE/20_1-2_Bering_Strait.pdf](https://21sci-tech.com/Subscriptions/Spring%202007%20ONLINE/20_1-2_Bering_Strait.pdf)
- [https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/07/superhighway-bering-strait-new-york-paris/397370/](https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/07/superhighway-bering-strait-new-york-paris/397370/)
- [http://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/trans-siberian-road/index.html](http://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/trans-siberian-road/index.html)
- [https://www.readex.com/blog/russia-connection-historical-proposals-reestablish-land-link-across-bering-strait](https://www.readex.com/blog/russia-connection-historical-proposals-reestablish-land-link-across-bering-strait)
- [https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3103997/bering-strait-tunnel-pipe-dream-or-game-changer-us-russia-china](https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/economics/article/3103997/bering-strait-tunnel-pipe-dream-or-game-changer-us-russia-china)
- [https://digismak.com/the-peace-bridge-the-unfinished-megaproject-that-wants-to-unite-the-united-states-and-russia-since-the-19th-century/](https://digismak.com/the-peace-bridge-the-unfinished-megaproject-that-wants-to-unite-the-united-states-and-russia-since-the-19th-century/)
- [https://boingboing.net/2019/05/07/why-no-one-is-going-to-build-a.html#:~:text=It%20would%20be%20very%20expensive,of%20the%20English%20Channel%20tunnel](https://boingboing.net/2019/05/07/why-no-one-is-going-to-build-a.html#:~:text=It%20would%20be%20very%20expensive,of%20the%20English%20Channel%20tunnel)
- [https://www.scandinavian-architects.com/en/projects/view/architectural-design-concept-for-the-bering-strait-project-diomede-islands](https://www.scandinavian-architects.com/en/projects/view/architectural-design-concept-for-the-bering-strait-project-diomede-islands)
- [https://www.nps.gov/bela/learn/nature/climate-change.htm](https://www.nps.gov/bela/learn/nature/climate-change.htm)
- [Hero image source](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/36/Pearl_of_Siberia_Shopping_Mall_in_Tobolsk_%28February_2023%29_-_1.jpg) by Vyacheslav Bukharov / openverse, by-sa.

<!-- aeo:section end="sources" -->
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## Related Coverage
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