Contractor immerses third element for the Fehmarnbelt tunnel
The main contractor on the Fehmarnbelt project, Femern Link Contractors (FLC), has now immersed the third tunnel element for the 18-kilometre long Fehmarnbelt tunnel between Denmark and Germany. This means that another of the total 89 tunnel elements is now in place on the seabed, where they will be joined together over the coming years to form the world’s longest immersed tunnel.
On Thursday evening, the operation began with the element being towed out from the tunnel element factory at Rødbyhavn on the Danish island of Lolland. From there, the 217-metre-long, and more than 73,500-tonne concrete element was towed to the tunnel trench by five tugboats, around 500 metres from the coast of Lolland.
The immersion itself could then begin on Friday. On Saturday morning, the element was connected to the part of the tunnel that has already been installed.
“Every immersion is a highly demanding precision task involving many interdependent parts. We are therefore very pleased that another element is now safely positioned on the seabed. With each immersion, the contractor FLC gains more valuable experience that will help ensure continued progress in the construction work,” says Lasse Vester, Deputy Contract Director at Sund & Bælt.
The installed element is now being covered with stones and gravel to secure it permanently in the tunnel trench. At the same time, preparations continue for the immersion of the next tunnel element.
The Fehmarnbelt link will become a central part of the European TEN-T transport network, which brings Europe closer together from Malta in the south to Finland in the north. For this reason, each tunnel element is named after a city along the corridor.
The third element is named after the German coastal town of Heiligenhafen, which is located on the Baltic Sea in the state of Schleswig-Holstein, close to Fehmarn. For centuries, the town has been a harbour and trading town with links to Scandinavia. With the Fehmarnbelt tunnel, Heiligenhafen will become part of a strengthened transport corridor that brings Scandinavia and Central Europe closer together.
About the Fehmarnbelt project
The Fehmarnbelt project is one of Europe’s largest infrastructure projects. The 18 km immersed tunnel between Denmark and Germany will be the longest in the world. The tunnel will have a motorway with two lanes in each direction and two electrified railway tracks. The travel time will be 10 minutes by car and 7 minutes by train. The Fehmarnbelt link will strengthen the connection between Scandinavia and the rest of Europe. The project is user-financed and is being carried out with support from the EU.