April 29, 2020

Visualisation of the Future Fehmarnsund Crossing

Immersed tunnel to relieve Fehmarnsund bridge. As part of the project to upgrade rail and road links to the future Fehmarn Belt fixed link, it was assessed that the current bridge - Sundbrücke would not have sufficient capacity to support the expected traffic volumes.

The Fehmarnsund separates the island of Fehmarn from the mainland of Germany and currently connected by the Fehmarnsund Crossing. The 960m long crossing includes a 248m long tied arch bridge that provide space for two lanes, a single-track railway line and a pedestrian/bicycle path. The Fehmarnsund Bridge was opened in 1963 and declared as an historic monument in 1999.
The existing Fehmarnsund bridge will not meet the requirement for the future road and railway connection that, likewise the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link project, will be part of the upgraded transport corridor between Scandinavia and Europe.
The federal and state authorities put out four tenders to develop a conceptual design for:
  • Bridge replacement by separate crossings for road and rail combined with or without an upgrade of the current bridge
  • New road and rail bridge combined with or without an upgrade of the current bridge
  • Immersed tunnel combined with or without an upgrade of the current bridge
  • Bored tunnel combined with or without an upgrade of the current bridge.
Services provided
Ramboll’s contract covers the basic design and preliminary planning of the Immersed Tunnel as well as the associated connections, taking into account public interests and environmental protection. For this purpose, variants in the route have been investigated including the structural design, MEP and safety concepts, planning, cost estimates and risk assessment. The project is planned as a pilot project for DB Netz AG using the BIM methodology.
Immersed Tunnel as preferred solution
Ramboll developed the conceptual design of the Immersed Tunnel solution which is now chosen to be the preferred solution. The 1,7km long Immersed Tunnel accommodates four lanes and two railway lines. The Historical Fehmarnsund bridge will be upgraded and used for slow traffic as well for cyclist and pedestrians. The whole project should be completed before the opening of the Fehmarnbelt Fixed link project which is also developed by Ramboll.