Newfoundland–Labrador fixed link
The Newfoundland–Labrador fixed link is any of various proposals for constructing a fixed link consisting of a combination of bridges, tunnels, or causeways across the Strait of Belle Isle, connecting the province of Newfoundland and Labrador's mainland Labrador region with the island of Newfoundland. This strait has a minimum width of.
Labrador and Newfoundland are connected by ferry service between Blanc-Sablon, Quebec and Newfoundland and Labrador|St. Barbe]. However, the most important ferry connection between Newfoundland and mainland Canada is the Marine Atlantic service between Port-aux-Basques and North Sydney, Nova Scotia, a distance of approximately.
The idea is not new; it was one of Joey Smallwood's ideas in 1949. It was again put forward by mining engineer Tom Kierans during the early 1970s as a means to bring hydroelectricity from Churchill Falls to Newfoundland. About $75 million was spent by the provincial government on constructing such a utility tunnel, but the project was cancelled in 1975.
The Confederation Bridge, which connects Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick, is significantly shorter than the Newfoundland–Labrador link would be, and crosses the Abegweit Passage, a shallower and calmer body of water than the Strait of Belle Isle.
In the lead-up to the October 2003 provincial election, Progressive Conservative leader Danny Williams promised to fund a feasibility study to placate link supporters.
In 2016, Premier Dwight Ball launched a new pre-feasibility study to determine the costs of a tunnel link between the island and Labrador.
In their 2019 election platform, the Liberal Party of Canada indicated support for a National Infrastructure Fund, including the Newfoundland-Labrador fixed transportation link, likely linking Yankee Point, Newfoundland, with Point Amour on the mainland.
In August 2021 the Canada Infrastructure Bank and the Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Transportation and Infrastructure signed a memorandum of understanding on the project and are assessing available options.
2004 feasibility study
The feasibility study into a Newfoundland–Labrador fixed link, resulting from the 2003 election promise by newly elected premier Danny Williams, was released in 2004. It examined causeway, bridge and tunnel options and recommended that a tunnel beneath the Strait of Belle Isle, accommodating a single railway track, would be the only feasible option, given the area's harsh winter weather conditions, the strait's bathymetry, and the geology of underlying soils.Electric-powered trains would be loaded on either side and carry cars, buses and transport trucks, in a manner similar to the Eurotunnel Shuttle between the United Kingdom and France. The authors of the study estimated that construction, either by tunnel boring or lowering pre-constructed tunnel sections to a trench in the sea floor, is beyond the current technological limit due to the depth of the sea floor and scouring of the strait by icebergs.
The authors also stated that the low traffic levels would not justify the cost of construction. Conceivably, if built with federal aid, the 1949 terms of union might be amended to remove federal subsidies from the federally operated Marine Atlantic ferry service that connects Port-aux-Basques with North Sydney, Nova Scotia, and place them instead on the proposed fixed link.
In terms of driving distance, a fixed link would not be favourable for travellers from the Maritimes or parts of the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, as they would have to drive to Quebec City where bridges cross the St. Lawrence River, before continuing east along Quebec's Côte-Nord.