4th Element
The fourth tunnel element for the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel has now been immersed in the tunnel trench south of Lolland. This means that the first nearly 900 metres of the 18-kilometre-long immersed tunnel between Denmark and Germany are in place.
The 217-metre-long and more than 73,500-tonne elements are transported from the work harbour at the tunnel factory in Rødbyhavn to the immersion area using tugboats and the special vessel IVY. Each individual element is then positioned with great precision in the tunnel trench, where it is connected to the already completed tunnel section.
The Fehmarnbelt Tunnel consists of 79 standard elements and 10 shorter special elements with a basement. With the fourth element in place, the turn has now come to the tunnel’s first special element, which is the size of a four-storey building.
“When we had placed the first elements on the seabed, it was important to demonstrate that the equipment, method and cooperation work in practice. Each operation is still a technically demanding task, but we feel well equipped for the next major task, which is the immersion of the first special element with a basement,” says Lasse Vester, Deputy Contract Director at Sund & Bælt.
The special elements are placed at intervals of approximately two kilometres. The basements contain, among other things, the tunnel’s technical installations, while at road level there is a lay-by where a service vehicle can stop without blocking motorway traffic.
The immersion of the first special element is expected to take place during the autumn.
At the same time, production of new elements continues at the tunnel factory in Rødbyhavn, where 16 standard elements and 3 special elements have so far been cast.
Fourth element named “Nykøbing Falster”
The Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link will become a central part of the European transport network TEN-T’s Scan-Med corridor, which connects Europe more closely from Malta in the south to Finland in the north. That is why each tunnel element is named after a city along the corridor.
The fourth element is named after Nykøbing Falster in Denmark. For centuries, the town has acted as a trading centre thanks to its strategic location between Zealand, Lolland and the wider Baltic Sea region.
Today, Nykøbing Falster, as the largest town on the Danish islands of Lolland and Falster, is a regional centre. With the FehmarnbeltTtunnel, Nykøbing Falster will become a central part of an enhanced transport corridor that connects Scandinavia and Central Europe more closely.
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.
About Sund & Bælt
Sund & Bælt creates lasting connections and better mobility. With expertise and experience from complex projects, we develop and operate future-proof infrastructure that shortens distances, strengthens cohesion and brings Denmark and Central Europe closer together.