A groundbreaking tunnel is currently under construction beneath the Baltic Sea, linking Denmark and Germany in a project set to significantly reduce travel times and enhance connections between Scandinavia and the rest of Europe.
The Fehmarnbelt Tunnel will span 18 kilometers (11 miles), making it the longest pre-fabricated road and rail tunnel in the world.
This extraordinary feat of engineering involves placing tunnel segments on the seafloor and then joining them together, creating a structure that will transport both road and rail traffic.
The main construction site is located on the northern coast of Denmark’s Lolland Island, where a massive facility spans over 500 hectares. Here, tunnel segments, or "elements," are being manufactured. Each of these 217-meter (712-foot) long, 42-meter wide elements is reinforced with concrete and steel.
Most underwater tunnels, like the 50-kilometer Channel Tunnel between the UK and France, are dug through bedrock beneath the seafloor. However, the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel will be built by connecting 90 individual elements, much like assembling a giant puzzle.
The tunnel, which carries a hefty price tag of €7.4 billion ($8.1 billion; £6.3 billion), is largely funded by Denmark, with €1.3 billion coming from the European Commission.
It is one of the region’s largest infrastructure projects and forms part of a broader European Union initiative to improve cross-continental travel while reducing air travel.
Once completed, the tunnel will make the journey between Rødbyhavn in Denmark and Puttgarden in Germany take just 10 minutes by car or seven minutes by train, replacing a 45-minute ferry ride.
It will also cut travel times between Copenhagen and Hamburg in half, from five hours to just 2.5 hours, providing a more environmentally friendly alternative for both passengers and freight.
"This project is not just linking Denmark to Germany; it's linking Scandinavia to central Europe," says Henrik Vincentsen, CEO of Femern, the state-owned company behind the tunnel. "Everyone benefits, and by reducing travel by 160 kilometers, we’ll also lower carbon emissions and lessen the environmental impact of transportation."
The tunnel consists of five parallel tubes in each segment, with two for rail lines, two for roads (each with two lanes in either direction), and one for maintenance and emergency use. Once each element is completed, it is towed by tugboats, weighing over 73,000 tons, to its location where it is carefully lowered 40 meters into a trench on the seafloor with remarkable precision, using underwater cameras and GPS technology.
In a region marked by busy shipping lanes and soft seafloor layers, drilling a tunnel through the bedrock was not an option. A bridge was initially considered but was discarded due to security concerns and the likelihood of strong winds disrupting traffic. Ultimately, the decision was made to build an immersed tunnel, which was deemed both the safest and most cost-effective solution.
Construction began following an agreement signed by Denmark and Germany in 2008, but the project faced delays due to opposition from ferry operators and environmental concerns. In 2020, the German federal court dismissed legal challenges, allowing the tunnel to proceed.
The tunnel is expected to open in 2029, and Femern forecasts that it will handle over 100 trains and 12,000 cars per day. Revenue from tolls will repay the loans used to finance the project over the next four decades. The tunnel is also expected to stimulate economic growth, creating jobs and boosting tourism in Lolland, one of Denmark's most economically disadvantaged regions.
As Anders Gert Wede, senior construction manager for the project, notes, the local community has eagerly awaited this development: "They're looking forward to seeing new businesses come to the area."
Source: BBC
BDST: 1429 HRS, APR 23, 2025
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