Tonight we are going to learn about the longest undersea tunnel in the world. This tunnel actually goes under the ground at the bottom of the ocean. England and France are separated by a large area of water called a “channel.” Before the tunnel people had to take boats to go back and forth between the two countries. A long time ago someone had the idea to dig very deep below the ocean and all the way across to the other side. Because it is a tunnel and crosses a channel, it was called the “chunnel.”
The first person to have the idea of digging this tunnel was a Frenchman named Albert Mathieu. At the time they didn’t have large digging machines, so they would have had to do much of it using shovels, horses, and wagons. Later, others were going to try to dig the tunnel, at another time some even started to dig from both sides, but France and England didn’t get along so some were worried it would be used to attack the other. For this reason, they waited to start building the tunnel.
Construction on the chunnel begins
Finally, many years later, both England and France agreed on a plan and began digging from both sides of the land. At that time they had better digging machines, so they could work much faster digging into the ground and removing all the dirt. Even though the project was very difficult and took a lot of time, both sides kept working and working. It even cost much, much more than they expected, but they were determined to finish the tunnel under the ocean to connect the two countries. They knew once the tunnel was finished it would make moving back and forth very fast and easy. It would also make both of the countries better friends because they could share more things very quickly. Along with digging the tunnel, they began to build train tracks, so a fast-moving train could drive between England and French. Engineers had to be very smart and understand everything about the ground and ocean in order to build it. An engineer is someone who goes to school to learn how to build things.
After six years of digging and building, the chunnel was almost complete. Two workers, Graham Fagg and Phillipe Cozette, were chosen to break through the last wall of dirt that connected the two sizes. Many reporters were there as well since everyone in the world was watching them finish the tunnel. When Graham and Phillipe finished digging through, everyone cheered and gave hugs and celebrated. They were so excited to have the tunnel finally finished. Sometimes even today Graham and Phillipe call each other to remember what an exciting day it was when they helped finish the tunnel.
Soon afterward, the Queen of England, Queen Elizabeth, and the President of France, Francois Mitterand, took trains from both sides and met in the middle to shake hands and congratulate each other on the great achievement.
How big is the chunnel?
In the end, digging the chunnel cost 16 billion dollars and even the lives of a few of the workers, but it was an amazing accomplishment. At its lowest point, it is 250 feet deep. That is the same as 20 houses stacked on top of each other. It is 23 miles long and every day carries people and food and other things back and forth between France and England.
Like the engineers who built the chunnel, you can learn math and science and other subjects that are important in school. They had to read and study and finish tests the best they could in order to have the knowledge to build the chunnel. You can also learn to work hard like the many workers who helped dig the tunnel and kept going and going even when it was difficult. Always remember great things take time and patience and practice and work.