Russia unveils plans for UK-US superhighway

Canadians could soon be able to travel between the U.K. and U.S. by rail or car. Russia has unveiled an ambitious plan to develop a superhighway that would connect the two nations.

According to the Siberian Times, Russian Railways president Vladimir Yakunin proposed the plan at the March 23, 2015 meeting of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The project, named the Trans-Eurasian Belt Development, would run throughout Russia alongside the Trans-Siberian Railway and connect to existing Asian and European networks. Most notably, the project would link the eastern border of Russia with Alaska.

A network of bridges and tunnels would create this superhighway, allowing travellers to drive from the U.K. to the U.S. Yakunin also proposed the development of a high-speed railway alongside the motorway, as well as pipelines for gas, oil, electricity and water. In total, the Trans-Eurasian Belt would span nearly 20,000 kilometres. It would also connect a narrow and remote part of the Bering Sea to the rest of the world.

The construction project would foster the development of new cities and industries while creating more jobs. Additionally, it would allow Siberia and the Far East, where global isolation has been a growing issue, to connect to the rest of the world. The highway and railway could also aid in fusing a new bond between the U.S. and Russia, as well as other nations.

"This is an inter-state, inter-civilization, project," Yakunin said, according to the Siberian Times. "It should be an alternative to the current (neo-liberal) model, which has caused a systemic crisis. The project should be turned into a world 'future zone,' and it must be based on leading, not catching, technologies."

Yakunin revealed that the project would cost trillions of dollars. However, as CNN speculated, the cost could be largely covered by the Russian government, as Yakunin is expected to be the nation's next president.