We have more and more underwater tunnels in Europe, such as the one that will connect Genoa from west to east through its port that is already under construction. Also rising is what is known as Fehmarnbelt Fixed Linkwhich will link Germany with Denmark through the Strait of Fehmarn and Lolland, in the Baltic Sea.
It is megatunnel It will connect both islands, German and Danish, and will be mixed: road but also rail. It is noted that it will be the most gigantic of this type. This pharaonic engineering work is expected to be inaugurated in five years, significantly reducing journeys between both countries.
Made up of gigantic concrete modules that are built on land and thrown into the sea
El Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link will have a length of 18 kmmuch more than the 3.4 km that of Genoa (exclusively on road) but less than the 50 km of the Eurotunnel across the English Channelwhich is only railway. It will be submerged up to 40 meters under the Baltic Sea and will have a total of five galleries: two road, two railway and one emergency or service.
With an approximate budget of 7 billion euros, this Fehmarnbelt received the definitive green light in 2022, at which time its construction tasks began. Making it possible is not being easy.
A megatunnel without tunneling the sea floor. As is usually the case, concrete and steel are the main elements being used to make this underwater megatunnel a reality. Although its construction is being peculiar.
Instead of being excavated with gigantic tunnel boring machines, it will be made up of 89 concrete modules which are huge: most will measure 217 m long and 42 m wide. Each one weighs no less than 73,000 tons.
These pieces will be created on the surface, and then joined on the seabed. In fact, the first module was completed at the end of last year and has already been immersed this year in the Danish area. Previously, dredging tasks have been carried out that have lasted more than two years, with 70% completed in January 2023.
Steel will be the other fundamental part of the Fehmarnbelt, which will be used to reinforce the tunnel modules. Every week 1,500 tons of steel are being produced to form the bars 15 m long and 32 millimeters in diameter that will fulfill this task. According to project dataest Fehmarnbelt requires as much steel as 50 Eiffel Towers.
In addition, a Spanish company will be the main person in charge of welding tasks: DMC-Wire. This firm’s robots will make more than 70% of these unions possible. And a magnetic crane that can lift up to five tons of steel will lower these bars to the seabed for robots to join and reinforce the concrete modules.
Its creators affirm that the construction of this cyclopean underwater tunnel will employ more than 3,000 workers and that it will take eight and a half years to conceive. If the deadlines are met, will open in 2029. This spring they finished the works on the permanent dam in the Danish area.
Beyond the complexity of the construction, its path has not been easy: Germany and Dimarca had disagreements over its financing with state aid in the equation. To which are added some project detractors. For example, the German Association for Environmental Protection, which has tried to stop it because it crosses a protected reef area, which delayed the project. Residents also show their concern about the foreseeable increase in traffic in the connection areas.
From almost an hour to 10 minutes by car. As far as road is concerned, the Fehmarnbelt will be part of the E47 route that connects Germany with Sweden, passing through the Danish capital Copenhagen. Currently, crossing the strait between the islands of Fehmarn and Lolland by car means taking a ferry that takes about 45 minutes, without taking into account waiting times. With the tunnel, they say, this journey will be reduced to 10 minutes.
And the train trip will be seven minutes as the trains will be able to go through the tunnel at 200 km/h. Thus, in turn, the travel time between Hamburg and Copenhagen will be shortened from almost five hours to two and a half hours.
Photo: Femern A/S
Source: www.motorpasion.com
