Political progress has been made between Spain and Morocco to build a 24-mile undersea tunnel connecting Europe with Africa, the Guardian reported Tuesday. The idea first came up in the 1970s, but has languished until last March when Spain elected a new socialist government. Both countries have committed more than $12 million each to preliminary drilling work and have agreed the European Union should pick up the bulk of the main cost of tunneling beneath the Strait of Gibraltar. The tunnel will run from the Punta Paloma on Spain’s southern coast to a terminal just east of Tangier to take advantage of the shallower waters to the west of the strait. Two rail tunnels will run 200 feet apart, with a smaller service tunnel running between them. At its deepest point, the tunnel will run 1,300 feet below sea level and 1,000 feet beneath the seabed. Tourists and trucks now cross between Tangier and Algeciras by ferry. © Copyright 2005 by United Press International

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