World’s Longest Rail and Road Tunnel Approved

• 7 November 2020
• Construction Focus
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The world’s longest combined rail and road tunnel project connecting northern Germany to Denmark costing US$8-billion has been recently approved, according to The Local on 03 November.

The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link is an 18-kilometre submarine link between the two countries constructed under an investment of US$8 billion, funded by Denmark and the European Union.

The project is expected to open for operation in 2029. However, the project was already subject to a controversial lawsuit by conservationist and ferry companies in the area. Nevertheless, a German court recently approved the construction.

Claus Baunkjaer, the project’s executive director, said the project was considered a major “historical event”.

The project will be one of the largest infrastructure projects in Europe, stretching across the Baltic Sea from Puttgarden (Germany) to Rodby on the Danish island of Lolland, providing for a journey of only 10 minutes end to end. .

Unlike other underwater tunnels, this tunnel will not lie under the seabed. Instead, the engineers will use hollow concrete sections and submerge them in a trench dug into the Baltic Sea floor.

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