Jalan Raya Trans Global

Jalan Raya Trans Global adalah sistem jalan raya yang direncanakan akan menghubungkan semua benua Bumi kecuali Australia dan Antartika. Jalan raya tersebut akan menghubungkan jembatan dan terowongan baru maupun yang sudah ada, tidak hanya meningkatkan transportasi darat tetapi juga kemungkinan menawarkan adanya saluran pipa utilitas. Rencana tersebut diajukan oleh Frank X. Didik.

Sejarah 
Pada 1890 William Gilpin pertama kali mengajukan untuk menghubungkan benua-benua melalui Rel kereta kosmopolitan. Unsur signifikan dari rencana tersebut, seperti Terowongan Channel Inggris, telah dibangun sejak era tersebut. Namun, perkembangan industri pelayaran global dan semakin maraknya perjalanan udara internasional telah mengurangi permintaan akan banyak hubungan jalur darat antar benua. Beberapa jalur yang terputus dihubungkan oleh feri penyebrangan.

Komponen Utama

Jembatan atau Terowongan Selat Bering 

One of the major components of the proposal is to span the Laut Bering with a bridge or tunnel called the Intercontinental Peace Bridge, the TKM-World Link or the AmerAsian Peace Tunnel. This would link the Cape Prince of Wales, with the Russian Cape Dezhnev. The Bering Strait Tunnel would consist of 3 tunnels connecting Alaska and Russia by going through two islands (the Little Diomede (USA) and Big Diomede (Russia)). The longest single tunnel would be 24 miles (40 km). Since the Laut Bering at the proposed crossing has a maximum known depth of 170 feet (50 m), the tunnels might be dug with conventional tunnel boring machines of the type that was employed in the construction of the Channel Tunnel. The three tunnel proposal is considered to be preferable over a bridge due to severe environmental conditions, especially the inescapable winter ice damage.

Each proposed tunnel would be shorter than some current tunnels. The Channel tunnel linking England with mainland Europe is approximately 31.34 miles (50.45 km) long; the ocean tunnel Seikan linking Hokkaidō with Honshū in Japan is 33.46 miles (55.86 km) long; and the Swiss Gotthard Base Tunnel through the Alps, currently under construction, will be 35.7 miles (59.60 km) long.

To make a bridge or tunnel useful, a road must be built to connect it, despite very difficult terrain and climate. In Alaska a 700 miles (1,100 km) road would be needed, and in Russia a road more than 1,200 miles (2,000 km) long must be constructed.

Terowongan Jepang Korea 
Jepang might technically be connected with mainland Asia via five tunnels, called the "Korea Japan Friendship Tunnel System," extending from the city of Fukuoka di Kyūshū, Jepang, to the port city of Pusan di Korea via four islands. The maximum ocean depth in this area is 480 feet (146 m). Similar proposals have been discussed for decades by Korean and Japanese politicians.

Terowongan Hokkaidō Sakhalin Asia 
It may also be possible to connect Japan to mainland Asia by constructing two tunnels extending north from Hokkaidō to Sakhalin Island (the Sakhalin Hokkaidō Long Tunnel), which would be 25 miles (42 km) long and a second tunnel from Sakhalin to the Siberian Russian mainland (the Sakhalin Tunnel), which would only be 4.2 miles (7 km) long. Moreover, Sakhalin Island region is a major oil-producing region, and the introduction of a pipeline would add a valuable secondary means of oil transport.

Terowongan Gibraltar 

The Gibraltar Tunnel is proposed to be a rail tunnel linking Africa and Europe. Due to the depth of the Strait of Gibraltar (300–900 metres / 1000–2950 feet), it would be a great challenge to remove automobile exhaust from this depth. Any tunnel would most likely be an electrified rail tunnel, similar to the Channel Tunnel linking the UK and France. There have also been proposals for a bridge over the Strait.

Terowongan Australia-Papua Nugini dan Sambungan ke Indonesia 
A tunnel/bridge between the Australian mainland and the island of New Guinea, bridging the Torres Strait, is not considered economically feasible owing to the great distance. Cape York in northern Queensland is 140 km away from New Guinea. This is a very long distance compared to existing tunnels or bridges, and the demand for car travel is not so high; as of 2009 there are no car ferries between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Passenger travel is by air only.

There might be more demand for connecting parts of Indonesia, most importantly the heavily populated island of Java, which could be connected to the Asian mainland by a crossing to Sumatra and from there across the Strait of Malacca to Singapore and/or Malaysia.

Laut Merah 

A bridge spanning the Red Sea at the Bab-el-Mandeb has been proposed. It would span from Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, across the strait, to Perim Island, and then to Yemen, for a total distance of around 18 miles including a suspension bridge spanning over 3 miles.

On February 22, 2008, it was revealed that a company owned by Tarek bin Laden is planning to build a bridge named Bridge of the Horns across the strait, linking Yemen with Djibouti Construction was proposed to begin in 2009. Proposals have not yet been approved by the governments of Djibouti and Yemen.

English Channel 
Tidak ada hubungan jalan raya antara Britania Raya dan daratan Eropa; hanya hubungan rel, yaitu Terowngan Channel. Terowongan jalan raya sempat diajukan sebagai salah satu alternatif, tetapi tidak benar-benar dibangun.

Celah Darién 

A notable break in the Pan-American Highway is a section of land located in the Darién Province in Panama and the Colombian border called the Darién Gap. It is an  stretch of rainforest. The gap has been crossed by adventurers on bicycle, motorcycle, all-terrain vehicle, and foot, dealing with jungle, swamp, insects, and other hazards.

Some people, groups, indigenous populations, and governments are opposed to completing the Darién portion of the highway. Reasons for opposition include protecting the rain forest, containing the spread of tropical diseases, protecting the livelihood of indigenous peoples in the area, and reducing the spread of drug trafficking and its associated violence from Colombia.

Kendala-kendala 
As with all major public works projects, funding is an issue. Large international projects such as the Bering Strait crossing, Japan–Korea Undersea Tunnel, dan Terowngan Gibraltar require not only great engineering effort, but also tremendous diplomacy to ensure that costs and benefits would be shared equitably. Other modes of transport, by air and sea, are already available. In addition, geological study must be done to ensure that the local plate tectonics would be compatible with the proposed tunnels.

Despite the hypothetical benefits of a global transport link, there is currently no publicised reasoning that would justify the massive financial cost of such a proposal.

Lihat pula 
 Atlantropa
 Jembatan Selat Messina

Referensi

Pranala luar 
 The original Trans-Global Highway proposal
 Map of route
Megastruktur