The tunnel project in Fehmarn Belt is a project with many derivative projects. As FemernReport previously wrote, a Femernsund tunnel is to be built between Fehmarn and the German mainland in connection with the upgrading and electrification of the railway network.
On Masnedø in Storstrømmen, work is already in full swing to build an almost four kilometer long new Storstrømsbro to Nordfalster.
The construction of the Storstrømsbroen is also a direct consequence of the Fehmarnbelt tunnel.
An important piece
The whole purpose of building the world’s longest submerged tunnel of 18 kilometers between Denmark and Germany is to shorten the route down through Europe via the so-called transport corridor from Scandinavia to the Mediterranean.
The TEN-T Scandinavian Mediterranean Corridor stretches from Finland through Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria and Italy to Malta.
But precisely the route through Denmark has long been a stone in the shoe when freight trains have to take a big detour across Funen to get further down through Europe.
By directing traffic along the shortest and fastest route across the Fehmarn Belt, both CO2 is saved and capacity is freed up on roads and railways. At the same time, it is becoming more attractive to move freight transport from trucks to environmentally friendly electric trains.
Dilapidated bridge
But without a new Storstrømsbroen, it cannot be done.
– The old Storstrømsbro can’t handle the freight trains, which are one of the main reasons why the Fehmarn connection is built, says Niels Gotlieb, the Road Directorate’s project manager for the construction of the Storstrømsbroen.
The old Storstrømsbro from 1937 is simply too worn, and it is not worth upgrading it.
Takes up rail capacity
The new Storstrømsbro, which will also be the third longest bridge in Denmark, is therefore a crucial cog in the significant improvement of Europe’s infrastructure, which makes it possible to travel from Copenhagen to Hamburg in less than three hours by train, where it currently takes 4.5 hours.
At the same time, the more direct route between Scandinavia and the Mediterranean means that European freight trains in transit, which today take up rail capacity on Funen and Jutland, can be replaced by more passenger trains between the Danish provinces.
Bridge for DKK 4.6 billion
The Storstrømsbroen is priced at DKK 4.6 billion and will consist of a double-track railway and road bridge with cycle and footpaths.
The bridge will be almost four kilometers long and 24 meters wide. The pylon will be 102 meters high, and the clearance height will be 26 meters.
