A groundbreaking engineering project is underway between Germany and Denmark, where a massive road and rail tunnel is being constructed beneath the sea. The Fehmarnbelt Tunnel, set to span 18 kilometers (11 miles) of water, will connect the two countries in a way that will dramatically reshape Northern Europe’s transport landscape.
This undersea tunnel will not only break records but also change the way people travel across the region. Once completed, the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel will cut travel time in half, reducing the trip from Hamburg to Copenhagen from five hours to just two and a half hours. A ferry ride that once took 45 minutes will now be replaced by a ten-minute drive.
Each of the tunnel’s 700-foot-long sections weighs as much as 10 Eiffel Towers. In total, there will be 79 of these massive sections, along with 10 specialized units designed to hold electrical components. These parts will be produced at a custom-built facility, which spans 300 football fields on the shore. The facility will be capable of manufacturing the sections five at a time.
Once built, these massive concrete blocks will be lowered into place on the Baltic Sea floor. This will be done using two specially designed pontoons, which will use 120 miles of steel cables to lower the sections into a dredged trench 40 feet underwater. The sections will then be connected and buried, making the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel the world’s longest “immersed” undersea tunnel.
To ensure the tunnel’s success, the concrete sections are equipped with advanced gaskets and seals that allow them to float. The sections will be assembled on land, then flooded with seawater in a basin. Once fully submerged, tugboats will guide them into position for placement in the sea.
Denise Juchem, a spokesperson for Femern A/S, the Danish state-owned company managing the project, explained, “There will be no test run for the actual immersion. It must work the first time. We will not compromise on quality and safety.” Femern A/S aims to lower each section with a precision of 12 millimeters, using a series of underwater cameras to monitor the process.
Upon completion, the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel will hold several world records, including being the longest immersed tunnel, the longest combined road and rail tunnel, and the deepest undersea tunnel for both road and rail traffic. The project’s total cost is estimated at $7.4 billion.
The tunnel is expected to boost business and tourism between Denmark and Germany, making travel easier and faster between the two countries, which are currently separated by 12 miles of sea. Eastern Denmark, in particular, is eagerly awaiting the tunnel’s opening, as it will become a monumental feat in undersea engineering.
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