First tunnel element of the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel successfully immersed
Copyrights: Femern A/S
The first tunnel segment of the Fehmarn Belt Tunnel has been successfully immersed. This marks an important milestone in the European mega-project connecting continental Europe and Scandinavia. With a length of 18 kilometres, the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel is set to be the longest immersed tunnel in the world – over three times as long as the current frontrunners the 5.8-kilometre Transbay Tube in San Francisco and the 5.6-kilometre Hong Kong Zhuhai Macau Tunnel in China.
“It is good to take a moment to reflect on this milestone in such a unique and important project for Northern Europe. We are proud to contribute to this major European endeavour”, says Hans de Wit, Director TEC. The immersion of the first tunnel element on the Danish side of the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel is an enormous operation that has been prepared in detail requiring extensive expert knowledge from both the Contractor’s team and the Owner’s team. Since 2008, the Ramboll-Arup-TEC (RAT) Joint Venture has been working for the Project Owner Sund & Bælt, providing expert advice in a range of technical disciplines. Engineers from several European countries are working closely together through the RAT Joint Venture, mobilizing the complementary expertise of Ramboll, Arup and TEC.
The 18-kilometre-long Fehmarnbelt Tunnel provides commuters with a much faster and weather-independent journey. The tunnel is designed as a highway and a double railway, making the switch from freight lorries to environmentally friendly trains much more attractive. The Fehmarnbelt Tunnel will complete the high-speed rail connection between Stockholm and Hamburg.
Main project participants
- Owner: Sund & Bælt
- Owners’ consultant: Ramboll-Arup-TEC JV
- Contractors:
- FLC for the immersed tunnel and tunnel portals and ramps contract and consisting of of VINCI Construction Grands Projets S.A.S. (France), Per Aarsleff Holding A/S (Denmark), Wayss & Freytag Ingenieurbau AG (Germany), Max Bögl Stiftung & Co. KG (Germany), CFE SA (Belgium), Solétanche-Bachy International S.A.S. (France), BAM Infra B.V. (Netherlands), BAM International B.V. (Netherlands)
- FBC for the dredging and land reclamation and consisting of Boskalis International B.V. (Netherlands) and Van Oord Dredging and Marine Contractors B.V. (Netherlands)
The numbers
- 18-kilometre tunnel
- 79 Standard Tunnel Elements
- 10 Special Tunnel Elements
- Each Standard Tunnel Element is 217 meters long and the Special Tunnel Elements are 39 meters long
- A total of 90 (79+10+1) immersion operations will be carried out: 79 Standard Tunnel Elements, 10 Special Tunnel Elements, and 1 closing joint
- The deepest point of the trench is 45 meters below sea level
- The deepest point of the track is about 40 meters below sea level
- 2 x 2-lane highway there and back and 2 x 1 railway line there and back
- One Standard Tunnel Element contains 33,000 m3 of concrete
- One Standard Tunnel Element displaces 75,000 tons of seawater when it is set in place
Find videos and images from the operation here: Media Kit First Immersion
The material will be updated continuously.
For more information: Femern
