ST. JOHN'S — It would be possible but extremely expensive to turn the long-held dream of a fixed link between Newfoundland and Labrador into reality, a new reports says.

An independent feasibility study released Monday examined the possibility of building a 20-kilometre link across the Strait of Belle Isle to physically connect the island of Newfoundland to the mainland.

The study concluded that a single tunnel, with an electric train that could carry vehicles, would be the most technically and economically attractive project. But the total cost would be about $1.7 billion and the study's authors said the traffic would be confined to mostly tourists and a few trucks.

"It is certainly technically feasible,'' said Brian Garrod of Hatch Mott MacDonald, the engineering firm that prepared the report. "It is expensive when you compare it with the traffic it will generate.''

The study concluded that an infusion of approximately $1.4 billion from public sources would be required to make the proposition attractive to private investors.

Newfoundland Premier Danny Williams, who was a proponent of a fixed link when he was running for election in 2003, appeared to back away from the idea Monday.

He said that while he is pleased with the report, construction of a fixed link is a long-term proposition that would have to be undertaken by some future government.

"This is far out,'' Williams said. "This is not going to happen during my government. I think what I need to do is try to position the province so that this can happen.'' Williams predicted that construction of a fixed link would be a 15-year project and require the participation of Quebec to build a 350-kilometre highway along the north shore of the St. Lawrence River.

"Nothing happens here unless the Quebec north shore gets done,'' Williams said.

"In order to make this economically feasible and viable from any perspective, (highway) 138 has to be completed.''

He said he will speak to Quebec Premier Jean Charest "at the appropriate time.''

Newfoundland Liberal Leader Roger Grimes called the report unnecessary and disappointing. He said the tunnel option wouldn't even provide all-hours access to the island province.

He said it basically would be an underground ferry.

"There are some real disappointments to people who were given some false hope by our premier,'' Grimes said. "And this report shows that it's not likely to happen any time soon.''

Grimes said a Liberal government would not be interested in pursuing a fixed link unless a private entity -- developers of the Lower Churchill project, for example -- agreed to bear much of the cost. The study also found that an upgraded ferry service across the strait would be significantly less costly than a fixed link.

As it stands now, ferry service is available on the strait about eight months of the year. During the winter, when the strait is clogged with ice, people and supplies are carried across by aircraft.

Options under consideration for a link included an underground tunnel, a causeway, or a combination of the two.

In 1975, the Conservative government led by Frank Moores committed to building a tunnel across the strait. A hole was dug on the Labrador side and the government spent $75 million before the project was abandoned.