Thursday, March 28All That Matters

How the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel (the world’s longest underwater tunnel) is being built


How the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel (the world’s longest underwater tunnel) is being built




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35 Comments

  • eezyE4free

    Very cool. Wonder why it takes 9 weeks to make a segment. Seems long? I know they aren’t tiny. There is quite a bit of rebar. Probably ignorance on my part. Would be fun to learn.

  • longlive289s

    “new beaches and land areas” sounds like they asked marketing to spin “just dumping it off to the side”

    Really cool project tho

  • JCaesar31544

    It’s an amazing engineering project but I’m slightly disappointed that so much of the available space is dedicated to cars. Having it dedicated to trains would have made it more cheaper while still being efficient at moving people and cargo.

  • USFederalReserve

    I didn’t plan on asking this question in the comments in an effort to not get NSA watchlisted, but how are the designers factoring in the possibility of a car bomb, intended to destroy the tunnel as an act of terror, similar to WTC or Oklahoma City? I’m not an engineer but I feel like a puncture in the tunnel yields a “everyone is fucked” kind of situation.

  • GoDeep001

    Does anyone know how they remove the bulkheads after the tunnel segments are connected? I spent 30 min researching it, and couldn’t find anything. Thanks.

  • whitestar11

    Curious. After it’s covered in rock and sand, could you theoretically drill a hole in the ceiling from the inside and no water would come through because the sand acts like a water-tight barrier? Not 100% but if the sand is thick enough wouldn’t it be a bit dry at some depth below the water barrier?

  • lythandas

    I’ve taken the ferry there every summer for the last 4 year. While it’s pretty fast and had a lot of trip each day, I can only imagine the time gained thanks to that tunnel ! Looking forward to it !

  • BillyBean11111

    2029 doesn’t seem like a real year.

    I actually get uncomfortable sometimes watching videos like this, the scope of a project like this is so overwhelming. I just don’t have a brain for macro projects like this, how they even happen, the responsibilities and timelines etc.

  • xcxcxcxcxcxcxcxcxcxc

    It is not and will not be the world’s longest underwater tunnel (Actually, by current estimates it may be the world’s longest undersea tunnel from 2029 till 2033). It will however be the world’s longest immersed tunnel, like the video description claims.

    Ryfast is currently operational at 14.4 km.
    Rogfast in the same area will be 26.7 km when it is finished. These are both road tunnels. There are also non-road tunnels that are longer.

    Ryfast and Rogfast are drilled out of the bedrock and not constructed and submersed like the Fehmarnbelt.

  • RealWitty

    I definitely think this is a cool project, but I’m curious. What are the benefits of the tunnel over a something like a bridge?

    For example, in Canada we have Confederation Bridge going over the Abegweit Passage (i.e. ~13km long seabridge), and a quick google search shows a number of significantly longer structures around the world servicing both cars and rail traffic.

    Are there environmental factors specific to this area (e.g. frequent high winds), or a significant cost difference (e.g. heavy commercial water traffic)?

    How are they planning to manage things like air quality, fire & medical emergencies, long term maintenance and security, etc., all of which seem like they’d be uniquely challenging for this project?

  • 0nrth0

    A few years ago I did this crossing on the train. Since there was no tunnel or bridge, there was a dock where a ferry pulled up, and the train drove into the ferry where it parked up next to all the cars and lorries. They then opened the doors and you could walk about on the boat, see the views etc for half an hour or so while it made the crossing, then get back on the train and continue your journey to Copenhagen train station. This tunnel looks really cool but I’m sad to see that the train ferry is being lost.

    [Here’s a photo.](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/Kqf7tGAIaJI/maxresdefault.jpg)

  • junkyardgerard

    That guy that just spent his life savings on a corner store on one of those islands along the old highway in Denmark: “Mother Fucker”

  • raine_bo_brite

    Down to the mm, ok, but how? I can see you being able to do that stuff on land quite easily, but how tf do you do it under water?

  • GrimResistance

    I’m curious how they get the bottom of the trench to be perfectly flat for the sections to lay on. Any dips and there would be voids underneath the tunnel sections that they can’t really fill in afterwards.

  • JuRiOh

    Living in northern Germany I am surprised I never heard of this. Pretty cool project. With all that’s currently going on though, 2029 seems incredibly far away however.

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