[almog]

While not directly related, it reminded me of another plan (from 1963), sponsored by the US to create an alternate to the Suez Canal, through the Israeli Negev Desert using... 520 nuclear bombs:

https://www.businessinsider.com/us-planned-suez-canal-altern...

[suzzer99]

They had a similar plan to blow a second Panama Canal through the Darien Gap with nuclear bombs. Just batshit crazy stuff.

[Barrin92]

The US had an entire national project around using nukes for excavation and construction: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Plowshare

[metadat]

Un-paywalled: https://archive.ph/muZg5