Is Your ID Ready for Takeoff? Check Your Star Power Before May 2025!

Take a moment and check your driver’s license. If it has the star in the upper right hand corner, you can pass on this newsletter and congratulate yourself for having gotten the Real ID. But if there’s no star, then read on.

                The star is the Real ID symbol, and it’s displayed a little differently in each state. (Wisconsin and Minnesota have the star inside a circle; California’s has its inside a bear, the state’s symbol.) Many of us have had them on our driver’s licenses (or state-issued ID cards) for years. The Real ID Act was made law in 2005, mandating that people without the star would be prohibited from flying domestically or entering certain federal facilities. But Congress gave everyone plenty of time to get it done, with the law setting a 2020 deadline for compliance. That was pushed back to 2025, thanks to backlogs at state motor vehicle departments and, of course, Covid.

                Well, 2025 is here, and if you don’t have a Real ID yet, now is the time to get one.

                The origin of the law goes back to the terrorist attacks of 9/11/01. The commission that investigated the attacks recommended that the federal government “set standards for the issuance of sources of identification, such as driver’s licenses.” The 2005 law established minimum security standards for states to use when issuing a Real ID card to a person. Also, certain federal agencies were prohibited from accepting IDs that were issued by states which did not meet the standards.

                It sounds a lot more complicated than it really is. (Imagine that.) Every driver’s license expires after a certain period of time. In Wisconsin, it’s typically about eight years. We all know the drill: go to the local DMV office, maybe fill out a form and pay a small fee, and our new license is issued, usually sent through the mail. The new license may have a different style than its predecessor. We probably had a new photo taken for it, or change of address. New security features could be added. And, hopefully, we made sure it has that Real ID star in the proper corner (upper right in every state).

                But getting the Real ID hasn’t been a requirement, necessarily, just a pretty good idea. Now, the calendar has turned to 2025, and May 7 is just about four months away. That’s the date the law takes effect nationwide. Any traveler aged 18 or older who doesn’t have another TSA-approved form of identification, such as a passport, must have a Real ID-compliant identification card or driver’s license. If you don’t have one and try to go through security at the airport, you’ll be turned away, no matter where you’d been planning to go, or how much you’ve already paid for your flight and other expenses, such as a cruise.

                Maybe you don’t want to take the time to get your license renewed, and Real ID certified, until your birthday, when the current card expires, and the big day is sometime after May 7. Okay, but if you plan to fly before your birthday, you’ll need one of the TSA-approved substitutes, such as a valid passport, from the U.S. or another country. Other documents on that list include a DHS trusted traveler card, such as Global Entry; a Department of Defense ID for military personnel and their dependents; a border crossing card, or others that are listed on the DHS website, www.dhs.gov.

                If you don’t have your Real ID yet but would like to get one, check with your local DMV office for a list of documents you’ll need. At a minimum, you’ll need to provide documentation with your full legal name and date of birth, your Social Security number, and proof of current address. Wisconsin’s Department of Transportation has a link prominently displayed on its website, www.wisconsindot.gov, that will even allow you to schedule your visit to the nearest field office. Once you’ve done all that, it will take up to 2 weeks for the new card to arrive in your mail.

                So, if you don’t have one and you plan to fly anytime on or after May 7, it’s time to git ‘er done, as Larry the Cable Guy says. Need help with your travel documents? We’re here to make sure you have everything you need before you head to the airport. Give us a call!

Sue Tindell

 

Explore Europe and Beyond: Journey Through the World's Famous Tunnels!
 

Many of our clients enjoy traveling to Europe, and it’s one of my favorite destinations, too. But one thing I haven’t done yet is go through the “Chunnel.” Officially known as the Channel Tunnel, it runs under the English Channel for about 31 miles, connecting England and France. Used by passenger and freight trains (cars can go aboard LeShuttle, a railway service), it is the longest underwater tunnel in the world. It opened in 1994, took six years to build and came in way over budget at 4.65 billion pounds.

            A cross-channel tunnel was not a new idea, not even a 20th century idea. Way back in 1802, a French mining engineer proposed a tunnel under the Channel, with illumination from oil lamps, horse-drawn coaches and an artificial island positioned mid-Channel for changing horses. That project didn’t get off the ground—or under it, as in this case—but it did start people on both sides of the Channel thinking about it. And now, there are some people thinking that the idea of an undersea tunnel might just work for something that is somewhat larger in scale: a tunnel under the Atlantic Ocean, linking New York and London.

            With airliners able to make the flight in eight hours, how could a tunnel even be practical? It might, using vacuum tube technology. By creating a vacuum within the tunnel and using pressurized vehicles, trains traveling along the structure could theoretically reach speeds of almost 3,000mph, making the journey last only an hour.

            Digging a tunnel under the Atlantic would be the most enormous engineering project in history. Using the Chunnel construction as a guide, the Atlantic tunnel would take nearly 800 years to build, and cost upwards of $20 trillion. Those numbers suggest it’ll be a while before anybody gets serious about this project, but tests of the vacuum-tube technology, also called a “hyperloop,” are underway in India and China right now.

            There are other tunnels that are actually happening. Norway just broke ground on the Rogfast Project, which promises to become the world’s longest and deepest undersea road tunnel, connecting the Norwegian mainland with some offshore islands. It will be just under 17 miles long and at its deepest point would be almost 1,300 feet under the water’s surface. The cost: $20 billion US. Another one that’s underway is the Fehmarnbeit Tunnel between Denmark and Germany, which will be the world’s longest road and rail tunnel when it opens in 2029.

            Bridge-builders aren’t ignoring the challenge of the tunnels. A new bridge linking Greece and Turkey over the Evros River is slated to open to vehicle traffic in 2027. China has been building a lot of them; since 2005, the Chinese have constructed nine of the top 16 longest bridges in the world. The U.K. recently shelved plans to build an over-water bridge linking Britain and Ireland. It was to be 12 miles long over the Irish Sea, The problem was not the length of the proposed bridge, but what would be underneath it: Beaufort’s Dyke, a 35-mile-long natural trench created during the last glacial period. Its average depth is 500 feet, twice that at its deepest point. It’s what’s down there that really killed the project: for about 30 years after World War II, the British government used the Dyke as a munitions dump. There are more than a million tons of unexploded munitions down there, as well as chemical weapons and even radioactive waste. Combine that with rough seas, strong currents and the unpredictable weather of Scotland and Northern Ireland, and it all caused the Brits to think that the bridge might not be the best idea to pursue right now.

            Just so you know, the longest suspension bridge in the world is not the Golden Gate in California. It’s the 1915 Ꞔanakkale Bridge in Turkey, with a main span of over 6,600 feet. It opened in 2022. The Golden Gate (4,199.5 feet long) is only number 20 on the list, right behind America’s longest, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in New York. Closer to home, the Mackinac Bridge that connects Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with the lower part of the state is 28th at 3,799.2 feet.

            Maybe your next trip to Europe will include riding the rails under the Channel. Give us a call, and we’ll get you on board!