Elbe Tunnel (1975)
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| Elbe Tunnel | |
|---|---|
 South entrance of the Elbe Tunnel |
|
| Official name | Elbtunnel |
| Carries | 8 lines |
| Crosses | Elbe |
| Locale | Hamburg, Germany |
| Maintained by | Federal Republik of Germany, Autobahnmeisterei |
| Total length | 3.325 meters |
| AADT | 110.000 |
| Beginning date of construction | 1968 |
| Completion date | 1975 |
| Opening date | 10.01.1975 |
The New Elbe Tunnel (German: Neuer Elbtunnel)[1] is the Elbe river crossing in northern Germany.
Contents |
[edit] Description
The Elbe Tunnel with its length of 3.1 km (1.9 miles) is a part of the Bundesautobahn 7 in Hamburg with 8 lines, connecting Northern Germany and Europe with Schleswig-Holstein and Denmark to the south (Lower Saxony). The tunnel operation office controls the traffic with 72 visual monitors. Traffic lights, highway barriers and variable message signs are in use to regulate 111.000 vehicles per diem.
[edit] History
The tunnel was constructed in the 1970s with three bores, containing a total of six autobahn lanes serving the city of Hamburg. On 10th January 1975 Chancellor of Germany Helmut Schmidt opened the Elbe Tunnel.
[edit] Dilation
To meet the demands of increasing traffic, in 2004 a fourth bore was completed with two more lanes. It was drilled through the ground by the world's largest tunnel boring machine (TBM), the front plate of the machine being 14.65 m (48 ft 1 in) in diameter. The machine was named Trude, a short form of the name Gertrud, and an acronym for Tief runter unter die Elbe (deep down under the Elbe). The European Space Agency helped in engineering aspects of the tunnel project for the tunnel boring machine.
The centre bores carry reversible lanes which switch direction in anticipation of commuter flows, similar to those of Caldecott Tunnel in Oakland, California. So for example more lanes are available for the morning commute into the city center in the direction Flensburg, and more in the direction of Hannover for traffic leaving the city in the evening.
[edit] Notes
- ^ or Elbtunnel in English this tunnel can also be referred to by few as Elbe Tunnel
[edit] See also
- Old Elbe Tunnel also known as the "St. Pauli Elbtunnel"
- Bundesautobahn 7
[edit] Literature
- Ulrich Alexis Christiansen: Hamburgs dunkle Welten. Der geheimnisvolle Untergrund der Hansestadt. Ch.Links Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 3-8615-3473-8 (in German)
