Indeed. A working group suggested the specs for what would become LHC back in 1987, and R&D for the magnets had started the year before. So 21 years before they

Indeed. A working group suggested the specs for what would become LHC back in 1987, and R&D for the magnets had started the year before. So 21 years before they first fired up the LHC in 2008. Keep in mind that the LHC would the existing tunnels from LEP, this new one will require a lot of drilling, so planning would have to start earlier relative to startup I imagine. [1]: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsta.2014.0037 https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/pdf/10.1098/rsta.2014...