Europe is working on an ambitious undersea tunnel project,the Fehmarnbelt, on the shores of the Baltic Sea that will revolutionise European transportation.
According to CNN, this project set to connect Denmark and Germany with a two-lane highway and two electrified rail lines, all under one of the busiest shipping lanes in the world.
At 18 kilometres, the Fehmarnbelt may not match the Channel Tunnel’s 50-kilometre length between Britain and France, but it is poised to be the longest road and rail tunnel, as well as the longest “immersed” tunnel in the world.
Unlike traditional tunnels that are excavated through solid land, the Fehmarnbelt will employ prefabricated concrete sections, which are lowered into a trench on the seafloor, linked together, and buried.
Last month, the first precast concrete tunnel sections, known as elements, departed from the factory in Rødbyhavn in Denmark, marking a significant milestone in the project which is set for completion in 2029.
With a staggering budget of 7.4 billion euros, this venture is monumental in scale.
Each tunnel element measures 217 metres long, 42m wide, and nine metres deep, weighing an impressive 73,000 tonnes, equivalent to 10 Eiffel Towers.
The purpose-built factory, the largest of its kind globally, spans 220 hectares, equivalent to 300 football pitches. Inside, three expansive construction halls equipped with six production lines operate tirelessly, producing one 217-metre element every nine weeks.
Each section is constructed around dense cages of reinforcing steel and consists of nine 24-metre-long segments.
Denise Juchem, spokesperson for Femern A/S, the company overseeing the project, noted that while a date for the immersion of the first element is yet to be confirmed, preparatory work is underway.
“This is a very complex and also very weather-dependent process. We are currently testing the highly complex vessels that have been specially built for our project.”
Meanwhile, construction continues on the two tunnel portals at Rødbyhavn and Puttgarden.
Located just a stone’s throw away from the existing ferry ports, the tunnel will reduce travel times, slashing the journey from 45 minutes by ferry to just 10 minutes by car and seven minutes by train.
The train from Hamburg to Copenhagen, which takes five hours at present, will take half the time when the tunnel opens.
“The Fehmarnbelt tunnel will be a game-changer for tourism in Denmark and the wider Scandinavian region,” Mads Schreiner, International Market Director at VisitDenmark, told CNN.
“By significantly reducing travel time between Germany and Denmark, it will make our country more accessible than ever for visitors from central Europe. We expect to see a rise in self-drive tourism, weekend city breaks, and sustainable travel options such as train and cycling tourism.
“This new connection presents incredible opportunities for destinations in Eastern Denmark, as more travellers will explore beyond Copenhagen.”
