It is not only in Fehmarn Belt, Rødbyhavn and Puttgarden that there is hectic activity in progress to upgrade the infrastructure. Also on the other side of Lolland-Falster, in Storstrømmen, work is gaining momentum to build the new Storstrømsbro, which connects Falster and Masnedø.
1,000 employees at work
On Masnedø near Vordingborg, up to 1,000 employees work on the bridge project, which has been subject to delays due to, among other things, the corona pandemic.
But now the Italian contractor consortium Storstrøm Bridge Joint Venture (SBJV) has really kicked up production in the large factory halls.
The necessary experience has now been gained with the workflows in the large factory halls on the construction site, so that the production of the bridge elements now moves forward more quickly.
– All gears on the site to produce the bridge elements are like a well-oiled machine now, says Niels Gottlieb, the Road Directorate’s project manager for construction.
From north and south
24 out of 40 bridge foundations have been installed, and three 4,000 ton bridge spans out of 44 have been sailed out and hoisted up and are now being cast together with the bridge piers.
48 bridge sections are to be used, of which 44 are produced in the large factory hall, and the last four are cast on site with two at each end. On the Falster side, the bridge sections are ready, while work is currently being done on the bridge sections on the Masnedø side.
– We are building from north and south and towards the middle, and in the meantime the pylon is growing up. We are working approximately 16 meters above the water right now on the pylon. The part of the bridge that is supported by the pylon will be the last to be completed, says Niels Gottlieb.
Revised timetable
Once more experience has been gained with assembly and welding together on the water, the expectation is that every two weeks a bridge section can be sailed out alternately in the north and south.
– We are in a phase where a lot is happening. Overall, I am confident in how things are progressing now, says Niels Gottlieb.
He therefore expects that the most recently revised timetable will hold, so that the Storstrømsbroen can open to car traffic at the end of 2025 and train traffic at the beginning of 2027.
