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It's probably more reasonable to compare the costs of this tunnel to undersea tunnels like the Seikan Tunnel (33 miles, $3.6 billion to build in 1988)[1] and the Chunnel (31 miles, $21 billion in 1994)[2].

1988 $3.6 billion = ~$7 billion today[3].

1994 $21 billion = ~ $32 billion today[4].

Put it altogether, the tunnel itself would be around $3.5 trillion[5]. Maglev + vacuum stuff would cost more.

(BTW, I love WolframAlpha for stuff like this.)

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seikan_Tunnel

[2] http://www.engineering.com/Library/ArticlesPage/tabid/85/Art...

[3] http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=%24US3.6+billion+1988+d...

[4] http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=%24US21+billion+1994+do...

[5] http://www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=%28%28%2432+billion%29%...




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