The Mysterious Secret Behind the Unconnected Europe-Africa Bridge
Explore the complexities and challenges that have prevented the construction of a bridge across the Strait of Gibraltar, linking Europe and Africa.
ENGLISH LANGUAGES
1/2/20256 min read


Introduction: Context and Significance of the Strait of Gibraltar
The Strait of Gibraltar, known in ancient times as the Pillars of Hercules, is a narrow channel that connects the Atlantic Ocean to the Mediterranean Sea. This small body of water runs between two major continents, with just a 13-kilometer gap at its narrowest point. Here, Africa and Europe get so close that you can stand on one side and easily see the other continent. However, there’s still no bridge connecting them, despite efforts over the past few decades to establish land routes between the two continents.
Geographical and Economic Importance
A ton of proposals have been put forward because this route is really important. It could connect the 450 million people in the European Union with the 1.5 billion in Africa, which would have a huge impact on the economies of both continents. Trade would increase, transportation would improve, and tourism would really take off. But the question is, if there are so many benefits, why hasn’t a bridge been built over the Strait of Gibraltar yet? Welcome back to another blog on BlogifyHub, folks. The Strait of Gibraltar connects two major bodies of water.
The Role of Major Ports: Algeciras and Tangier
The Strait connects the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea, stretching about 57 kilometers long. At its narrowest point between Tarifa in Spain and Point de Tarifa in Morocco, it’s only 8 miles or 13 kilometers wide. As for depth, the average is around 1,200 feet or 365 meters. Despite its small appearance, its importance is huge because it serves as a natural route between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. In contrast, the Swiss Canal is a man-made waterway for ships between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.
The Swiss Canal is pretty narrow, which means there's always a risk of large ocean-going ships getting stuck. The Strait of Gibraltar provides an open route for big cargo ships, so a lot of ships pass through here. Every year, around 20,000 ships go through the Swiss Canal, 14,000 through the Panama Canal, and surprisingly, over 100,000 ships pass through the Strait of Gibraltar annually. Many cargo vessels carry goods from the Western Hemisphere to the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.
Challenges of Building a Bridge
Ships navigate through the Strait of Gibraltar to reach Asia and China, and it's the same route used for shipping from the Middle East to Western Europe or America. Since the Strait of Gibraltar is close to countries rich in fossil fuels, oil vessels passing through here is a daily occurrence. According to reports, around 300 oil vessels pass through the strait daily, carrying goods worth billions of dollars. The Strait of Gibraltar is a crucial trading route for global markets, and that's why it's so important.
The job market in nearby countries is also linked to Spain's Algeciras Port, which is the largest shipping port in Europe, and Morocco's Tangier Port, which is rapidly growing. With the financial benefits coming from trade and tourism, many people are surprised that there still isn’t a bridge connecting these two regions. It’s not like nobody has thought about it; since 1979, there have been several feasibility studies and proposals. However, there are some issues that make building a bridge here quite complicated. Let’s start by discussing those.
Financial Considerations and Cost Distribution
According to estimates, building the bridge to Gibraltar could cost anywhere from $5 billion to $20 billion. This bridge will be a lot more challenging than other major bridges because it needs to be designed in a way that allows the world's largest ships to pass underneath easily. Saying that is one thing, but actually doing it is probably quite tough. We'll talk about why it's difficult later, but the big question is, who can afford this $5 to $20 billion price tag? It's pretty clear.
The countries benefiting from the state of Gibraltar will have to bear the costs, which means Spain and Morocco. So far, neither country has been able to come to any agreement due to their political leadership. Spain claims that Morocco will gain more from the bridge, so they should bear a larger share of the cost, while Morocco's leadership wants the costs to be split 50/50. Another issue is the feasibility of the bridge—essentially, how beneficial it will be once it's built. For example, take the Channel Tunnel between the UK and France, which cost around 145 billion.
It cost a ton of money to build, but every year over 20 million passengers use this tunnel. A passenger can get from the UK to France for about £121 or $150, which means the tunnel makes around $30 billion a year—double what it cost to build. Now, if they built a bridge over the Strait of Gibraltar, would it make enough to cover the construction costs? A lot of people are skeptical about that because Morocco's GDP is only $130 billion.
If we build a bridge here for $5 billion from Pakistan, and charge at least a $20 fee, we could see around 250 million passengers using the Strait of Gibraltar bridge each year, compared to the 20 million that use the Channel Tunnel between the UK and France. That would help cover the bridge's costs, which is a pretty solid figure. The next issue is construction. As you know, the Strait of Gibraltar is a busy route for ships, so we need to design a bridge that won’t disrupt this traffic.
Engineering and Construction Difficulties
The bridge will need to be really high, which is going to be a huge challenge for the engineers. The average depth of the Strait of Gibraltar is about 1,200 feet, but in some places, it goes over 3,000 feet deep. That means the pillars would have to be taller than the world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, which is only 1,104 feet high. So, setting up pillars over 3,000 feet tall underwater in the Strait of Gibraltar is a task that would make any engineer nervous.
The water currents here aren't the same everywhere. At the bottom of the ocean, the water flows from east to west, but at the surface, it goes from west to east. So, if we have these super tall pillars here, they'll have to withstand pressure from both sides. But the biggest threat to this bridge isn't from the world's largest pillar underwater; it's actually from the tectonic plates of the Earth. Yep, our Earth's crust is made up of different sections called tectonic plates, and they're always shifting. Where these plates meet, that's where earthquakes happen.
Geological and Environmental Concerns
Earthquakes are pretty common, and unfortunately, the African and Eurasian tectonic plates meet right under the Strait of Gibraltar. So, even if they build a bridge there, the consequences could be pretty disastrous. Staying safe from earthquakes in this region is really just a matter of time. Back in 1755, there was the Lisbon earthquake, which had a magnitude that caused a lot of destruction in Portugal, Spain, and Morocco. Then in 1960, there was another quake with a magnitude of 5.7 that wreaked havoc in Agadir and Morocco. So, building a bridge over the Strait of Gibraltar means dealing with the strong currents of the Atlantic Ocean.
We’ll have to deal with it, and on top of that, we might have to handle 10 magnitudes of pressure too. The ocean floor of the Strait of Gibraltar isn’t stable either. Researchers say there are soft layers underneath that can’t support any structures. This soft clay can shift around easily during geological activity or under any kind of pressure. Geologists have warned that any construction project in this area could totally fail because of these clay channels. But that doesn’t mean both sides...
Alternatives to a Bridge: Tunnel Feasibility and Implications
You can't really connect continents in any way. There are a few alternatives, like a tunnel under the ocean floor, similar to the Channel Tunnel between the UK and France, but that would drive the project costs up even more, raising doubts about its feasibility. On the other hand, Spain and other EU countries believe that building a tunnel or bridge could lead to a significant increase in African refugees or illegal immigrants in Europe, which could be tough to manage. These are all reasons why it's a complicated issue.
"Even though there's no distance between both continents off Gibraltar, a bridge has still never been built here. I hope you all will like and share this blog. Thanks so much for your loving comments. See you in the next amazing blog!"