A Bering Strait crossing is a hypothetical bridge or tunnel that would span the relatively narrow and shallow Bering Strait between the Chukotka Peninsula in Russia and the Seward Peninsula in the U.S. state of Alaska. The crossing would provide a connection linking the Americas and Eurasia. With the two Diomede Islands between the peninsulas, the Bering Strait could be spanned by a bridge or tunnel. There have been several proposals for a Bering Strait crossing made by various individuals and media outlets. The names used for them include "The Intercontinental Peace Bridge" and "EurasiaAmerica Transport Link". Tunnel names have included "TKMWorld Link" and "AmerAsian Peace Tunnel". In April 2007, Russian government officials told the press that the Russian government would back a US$65 billion plan by a consortium of companies to build a Bering Strait tunnel. History 19th century The concept of an overland connection crossing the Bering Strait goes back before the 20th century. William Gilpin, first governor of the Colorado Territory, envisaged a vast "Cosmopolitan Railway" in 1890 linking the entire world through a series of railways. Two years later, Joseph Strauss, who went on to design over 400 bridges, and then serve as the project engineer for the Golden Gate Bridge, put forward the first proposal for a Bering Strait rail bridge in his senior thesis. The project was presented to the government of the Russian Empire, but it was rejected. 20th century In 1904, a syndicate of American railroad magnates proposed (through a French spokesman) a SiberianAlaskan railroad from Cape Prince of Wales in Alaska through a tunnel under the Bering Strait and across northeastern Siberia to Irkutsk via Cape Dezhnev, Verkhnekolymsk, and Yakutsk (around of railroad to build, plus over in North America). The proposal was for a 90-year lease, and exclusive mineral rights for each side of the right-of-way. It was debated by officials and finally turned down on March 20, 1907. Czar Nicholas II approved the American proposal in 1905 (only as a permission, not much financing from the Czar). Its cost was estimated at $65 million and $300 million, including all the railroads. These hopes were dashed with the outbreak of the 1905 Russian Revolution followed by World War I. Interest was renewed during World War II with the completion in 194243 of the Alaska Highway, linking the remote territory of Alaska with Canada and the continental United States. In 1942,