PHOTO FINISH

THE CHANNEL TUNNEL 1990

After four years of toil, mainland Europe and Britain were connected again after more) and Phillippe Cozette from the French contingent shake hands while holding their respective national flags, after the first connection between the two ends of the tunnel is made. The idea of connecting England and France was suggested as early as 1802, but it wasn’t until 1988 that work began between Folkestone in England and Calais in France. Three more years of construction were needed after the milestone meeting () in 1990, and the tunnel was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II and French President François Mitterrand on 6 May 1994. It remains the longest underwater tunnel in the world, at 37.9 km, and more than 80 million vehicles have travelled through since its opening.