The ancient Egyptians build the pyramids to deal with their unemployment problems. In the 19th century we first build canals and then railroads to deal with unemployment. Then we had a space program, interstate highway program, and the cold war to mop up the unemployed.

So should we have more wars, canals, pyramids, highways? As long as we need boondoggles to deal with unemployment, I favor a railroad tunnel between Siberia and Alaska over yet more wars. Better train service in USA, better means of electric power generation or reducing electric power consumption would be more practical, but do not have enough political glitz to mobilize the enthusiasm of the voters. This proposed tunnel would.

As with all the other boondoggles, the economic benefits might lag the capital expenses by many decades, but the government has never worried about this before, so they probably would not now.

Pulleeeze!  The report’s excuse for error is risible:  “... it (the idea) speaks to the innocence and wonder left in us”.
  Perhaps, if we just got right down to brass tacks, we might better “speak to our innocence and wonder” by stopping wars and exploitations?  Maybe?  Or by learning to cooperate instead of dominate?
  Isn’t this “the type of project we need to be funding and training our workers to perform” - not to mention our titans of business and government?Underwater bridges between North Asia and North America can wait a few more years, no?

I suppose the US has not the vision to even consider this. I do not know what the payoff might be, but maybe Canada has the vision. They have a transcontinental railroad they could extend up to Alaska. Maybe private capital could build one to cross Alaska. But paying for half that tunnel ... ?

This is the type of project we need to be funding and training our workers to perform.