The Danish Parliament’s transport committee took a day out of the calendar on Monday and went on a construction site visit. The first stop was on Masnedø during the construction of the new Storstrømsbro. Here, the Road Directorate’s project manager, Niels Gottlieb, gave a brief status of the somewhat turbulent project.
Construction is progressing
The good news is that construction is progressing. According to the revised plan, the bridge must be ready for car traffic in 2025, and in 2027 the first trains must be able to run over it. That plan now seems to be working. The work on the bridge elements and about half way, three quarters of the foundations for the bridge piers are finished, and the work on the bridge piers is about half way. The work on the bridge girders, which will end up having to carry the road and railway, is about a third underway.
DKK 3.4 billion more and an extra 34 months
The bad news is that the construction’s main contractor has filed an arbitration case claiming an additional payment of DKK 3.4 billion and a 34-month deadline extension.
Niels Gottlieb was able to tell the four present members of the transport committee that the arbitration case and the building project itself are running on two parallel tracks. He could also reassure that, although the arbitration case will most likely end up taking several years, the construction work will continue regardless of the legal turmoil.
Passed 86-year-old bridge
From Masnedø, the trip continued south. Here, the transport committee was able to see for themselves that the 86-year-old Storstrømsbro is indeed suitable for replacement.
In Rødbyhavn, Femern A/S presented the A chain led by CEO Henrik Vincentsen, who was able to show around casting hall C at the element factory. In halls A and B, the casting work is in full swing, so for security reasons they are closed to visitors – even those from the Parliamentary Transport Committee.
Managed 127 millimeters of rain
On the bus ride through the construction site and out to the tunnel portal and the descent ramp, site manager Anders Gert Wede was able to reassure the transport committee on top of the weekend’s triple cloudburst in Rødbyhavn. Both the construction site and the element factory handled the 127 millimeters of rain that fell Friday-Saturday in fine style. The whole area is well drained and the large basins for collecting water passed the pressure test without any problems. It was actually not to be seen that the heavens had really opened just a few days before the visit.
More political attention
Today, Tuesday, the chairman of the Conservative People’s Party, Søren Pape Poulsen, has announced a visit to the construction site in Rødbyhavn. In any case, there is no shortage of political attention to the largest construction project in Danish history.
