Hauliers could have driven across the English Channel on a three-lane motorway had plans submitted to Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s been approved by the Tory government.
Documents released from the National Archive this week show that civil engineers said tunnelling under the Channel would be impractical and instead suggested a 21-mile bridge from either Dover or Folkestone.
It was estimated that trucks would have to pay £8 a day to cross while cars would be charged £5.60.
The submission, which was made by LinktoEurope, said the £3bn plans had backing from private financiers and the bridge would be built along the lines of the Severn Bridge, although it did admit the huge pylons on which the bridge would rest could cause problems for navigation in the Channel.
But they said the structure would be strong enough to sustain an impact with a ship.
A formal submission was presented to the government in April 1981, but there is no record of how seriously it considered the plan for a Channel bridge.
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