Posts Tagged ‘Fehmarn Belt Tunnel’
Road to prosperity A tunnel between Denmark and Germany is taking shape
Travelling by road or rail between Scandinavia and Hamburg has long meant either a detour through western Denmark or a 45-minute ferry between Rødbyhavn, on the Danish island of Lolland, and Puttgarden, on the German island of Fehmarn. An 18km road and rail tunnel under the Fehmarn Belt, the strait between the two, is meant to change that: once it opens, the crossing will take ten minutes by car and seven by train, and the rail journey between Copenhagen and Hamburg will be halved to two and a half hours.
Rather than being bored through the seabed, the tunnel is being assembled on it, from 89 concrete sections cast at a factory in Rødbyhavn and floated out one at a time. Femern, the state-owned Danish company building it, has put the cost at €7.4 billion, most of it paid by Denmark and €1.3 billion by the EU, to be repaid from tolls over some 40 years.
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The fourth section was lowered into place at the end of September, putting nearly 900 metres of the tunnel on the seabed. When the rest will follow is less certain. The tunnel had been due to open in 2029; Sund & Bælt, the state-owned company behind the project, says it will recalculate the schedule and the budget once six sections are down, which it expects by the end of the year.
On Lolland, one of Denmark’s poorest areas, the question is what the tunnel will leave behind besides traffic. The government has designated a state industrial park at Rødbyhavn, and the council says it has held talks with 15 companies, from offshore wind to defence, about setting up there. Not everyone is convinced that will be enough: the head of a cross-border business organisation has pointed to the Channel Tunnel, whose endpoints at Dover and Calais remain places people pass through, and has called for a joint Danish-German growth plan. Building the tunnel may turn out to be the easy part.
This briefing was drafted by an AI agent and edited by a human before publishing. All information used in the article was vetted by a human prior to drafting.
The Fehmarnbelt Tunnel is approaching its first kilometre
The first element of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel successfully immersed
After a multi-day operation, the first of a total of 89 concrete elements for the Fehmarnbelt tunnel is now in place on the seabed. The historic event began late on Monday evening, 4 May 2026. Five tugboats and the special immersion vessel IVY transported the tunnel element from the tunnel factory at Rødbyhavn on the Danish island of Lolland to the immersion point off the Danish coast.
Around noon on Wednesday, the immersion itself began. Approximately 14 hours later, the dedicated position in the Fehmarnbelt had been reached, and the first tunnel element had been positioned precisely in the tunnel trench in front of the Danish tunnel portal. Subsequently, the element was connected to the portal using hydraulic arms. The position was then finally confirmed by precise laser measurements inside the immersed tunnel element. Later in the day, IVY will then be released from the element.
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Originally published on 7 May
Read MoreFirst tunnel element of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel to be immersed
The first of the 89 concrete elements that will make up the future Fehmarnbelt tunnel between Denmark and Germany is now on its way to the immersion point off the coast near Rødbyhavn on the Danish island of Lolland.
The 217-metre-long and 73,500-tonne concrete element left the work harbour of the tunnel factory at 9 pm on 4 May 2026. In preparation of the immersion, the contractors added a further 4,500 tonnes of ballast concrete to ensure the element is heavy enough to sink to the seabed. Now the just over two-kilometre journey to the immersion point off the future tunnel portal has just begun.
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Originally published on 4 May
Read MoreFirst tunnel element prepared for immersion
Preparation of the first element for the Fehmarnbelt tunnel is well under way. The element, which is the first of a total of 89, has just been filled with 4,500 tonnes of ballast concrete. This increases the weight from 73,500 tonnes and enables the element to later sink in a controlled manner down onto the seabed.
The work inside the element has been carried out via a temporary access structure consisting of five shafts, which are bolted onto the watertight steel bulkheads that keep the water out. At one end there is a materials lift, a concrete shaft and a man‑access shaft, which also functions as ventilation. At the other end there is a ventilation shaft and an emergency shaft for personnel.
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Originally published on 22 Apr
Read MoreImmersion pontoon IVY passes final test and receives approval
The immersion pontoon IVY has passed its final tests and is now approved by the Danish Maritime Authority. Therefore, the contractor Femern Link Contractors (FLC) can begin preparing to immerse the first tunnel element into the dredged tunnel trench off Lolland’s coast this spring.
The special vessel IVY is comprised of two distinct units: IVY 1 & 2. Prior to the transportation and immersion of a 217-metre-long standard tunnel element, each end is securely attached to IVY 1 & 2, which provide buoyancy. For the handling of the 39-metre-long special elements, IVY 1 & 2 are joined to form a single vessel, facilitating the immersion process. Together, IVY 1 & 2 are equipped with 23 kilometres of steel wire spread over 66 winches, enabling them to submerge tunnel elements to depths of up to 40 metres with exceptional precision.
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Originally published on 3 Apr
Read MoreContractor tests special vessel for immersion of tunnel elements
At present, the contractor consortium Femern Link Contractors (FLC) is testing the special vessel that will immerse the tunnel elements for the Fehmarnbelt tunnel. Over the weekend, the unique immersion pontoon IVY 1 & 2 carried out the first test of connecting the vessel to a completed tunnel element.
The immersion pontoons are currently located in the large Danish work harbour on Lolland, with the first tunnel element secured between the two units. The initial phase of testing has already been successfully completed and includes, among other things, confirming that all functions operate correctly – both when IVY 1 & 2 are operated separately holding a standard element secured in between, and when they are operated as a combined vessel.
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Originally published on 3 Mar
Read MoreA new special vessel at the Fehmarnbelt project
A new special vessel has arrived in the work harbour in Rødbyhavn. It is the large floating crane “Hebo Lift 9”. The floating crane will place the enormous anchors on the seabed, to which the immersion pontoon IVY will be attached with long steel wires in connection with the immersion of the first tunnel element this spring.
A total of eight anchors weighing 500 tonnes each will be used. The anchors are shaped like large boxes and are lowered onto the seabed. After the immersion of an element, the anchors can then be picked up again by the crane and reused in connection with the immersion of the next element.
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Originally published on 30 Jan
Read MorePreparations underway for immersing tunnel elements into the Fehmarnbelt
Preparations for the special vessel IVY, which will play a key role in the construction of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel, are nearing completion. The approval of the immersion pontoon is almost two years behind the original schedule.
In the coming weeks, the first part of the tunnel trench will be prepared for immersion. The trench is being adapted to the elements, and the contractor is laying a gravel bed to create an even base for the tunnel elements.
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Originally published on 21 Jan
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