The small island of Fehmarnin it Baltic Seais one of the favourite summer tourist destinations in Northern Europe. Just a stone’s throw from the mainland and Denmark, this quiet island with preserved nature is at the heart of the construction of a mega tunnel under the sea.
When it is launched in 2029, it will be the tunnel rail and road longest submarine in the world. Will unite Germany and Denmark further reducing travel time between the closest points of the two countries on either side of the Fehmarn Strait45 minutes by ferry (not including waiting and boarding time), 7 minutes by train or 10 minutes by car.
The longest underwater tunnel in the world
The tunnel, whose construction marked a milestone with the first section ready to be submerged last June, is the missing link to complete a transcontinental highway that will move hundreds of thousands of people a year and generate billions of dollars in revenue, from Sicily to Finland.
He Trans-European Transport Network The Scan-Med corridor is a network of roads, railways and sea routes that connect all corners of the European continent. One of the most important routes is the Scan-Med corridor, a vertical axis of the network that spans 5,000 kilometres from Malta in the Mediterranean to the frozen Finnish tundra.
This route has to cross the Alps, with viaducts and tunnels, such as the Mont-Blanc, and finds its greatest obstacle in the north of Germany, the Baltic Sea and the Fehmarn Strait. And that’s a Problem for Sweden.
Germany is Sweden’s second largest trading partner, but trade between the two countries has to take a 150-kilometre detour through Denmark. A straight line is not possible between Germany and the island of Zeeland, where the capital Copenhagen is located, and which is connected to Sweden by the famous Oresund BridgeThe Fehmarn Strait is about 20 km wide, but building a tunnel or bridge has been a challenge. The first of these was convincing Denmark to do it.
During negotiations with Denmark for the construction of the Oresund Bridge, an agreement was reached: the Swedes would help build the Oresund Bridge if Denmark agreed to study the construction of a fixed link via the Fehmarn Strait.
Fuente: Google Maps
The idea was not new; a railway bridge was already being considered in the 1960s, but was quickly discarded. Trains from Hamburg to Copenhagen still use a ferry on the island of Fehmarn to cross the strait and reach the island of Zeeland in Denmark.
Initially, the idea was to build another suspension bridge, similar to the Oresund bridge. Given the distance, it is feasible. China has built a 55-km bridge, linking Shenzhen and Zhongshan. However, with sections of more than 700 metres long and, above all, a seabed that makes it difficult to build pillars, this was discarded in favour of a tunnel.
When talking about an underwater tunnel, one thinks of something like the Channel Tunnel, which links France and England. Unlike the Channel Tunnel, the Fehmarn Tunnel will be a mixed tunnel, with freeway and rail traffic, all in four tunnels, plus one service tunnel.
The other difference is that the tunnel is not dug. It will consist of 89 concrete modulesn, most of which will measure 217 m long and 42 m wide, and will weigh 73,000 tons eachThese modules are manufactured on land, transported offshore and placed on the seabed, where they are assembled with millimetre precision.
In the manufacture of these steel and concrete sections a Spanish company, DCM-Wirewhich is what the welding robot provides to join the internal steel structure of the giant concrete pieces.
On the other hand, a project of this magnitude always counts with detractors. Nature conservation associations, ferry operators and some residents of Fehmarn island have protested against the works.
The tunnel runs through a protected area with reefs and sandbanks that are home to a rich fauna. Opponents have delayed the project for seven years by challenging the legal status of the project and the approval of the plans on the German side.
Photos | Femern A/S
Source: www.motorpasion.com
