Fehmarn Belt bridge
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This article or section contains information about a planned or proposed future bridge. It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the construction and/or completion of the bridge approaches, and more information becomes available on it. |
The Fehmarn Belt bridge is a project to connect the German island of Fehmarn with the Danish island of Lolland with a bridge crossing the Fehmarn Belt in the Baltic Sea. The Fehmarn Belt is 18 kilometres wide.
Politically, the governments of both countries are determined to proceed with this project within the next decade. They are hoping to begin construction by 2010, with a projected completion and opening by 2015. However there have been objections from local people in Germany, both environment protectionists, and people fearing loss of jobs in connections with today's intensive ferry traffic. The governments have stated that a go-ahead decision should have been made during 2006. However at a meeting February 2007 the decision was to delay it and investigate the financing again, since the budget has risen.
The design has preliminarily been decided to be a double-span cable-stayed bridge, with four road lanes and two rail tracks. The latest cost estimation is 4 bn euros for the bridge and 1,5 bn euros for the land connections (mainly 160 km railway rebuilt from single to double track, and electrified).
The project is comparable to the Øresund Bridge, the Great Belt Bridge or the project of the Strait of Messina Bridge and would be the biggest near future project in the infrastructure of Northern Europe. The route is the main connection between Hamburg, (Hamburg Metropolitan Region), and Copenhagen/Malmö, (Øresund Region); (in German: Vogelfluglinie, in Danish: fugleflugtslinjen).
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