These conditions did not render the approach impossible, only difficult, dangerous, and slow.[3] Kitchener sought an alternative route, and settled on one widely thought to be infeasible: he determined to build a railway across the vast, dry, and scorching Nubian Desert that would connect Wady Halfa to Abu Hamed, a small town then under Mahdist control. Premier engineers in Britain deemed the railroad an impossibility for several reasons, foremost of which being the speculated lack of available water sources along 120 miles of the proposed 230 mile line.[16] Kitchener disregarded this impediment and all others, ordering the well-known Lieutenant Percy Girouard to make preparations to begin construction. The capable engineer conducted extensive surveys of the proposed line, and found that, although the terrain was certainly difficult, and water fearfully sparse, the line was possible.