Fehmarn Belt fixed link: Difference between revisions
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There have been objections from local people in [[Germany]], both those fearing loss of jobs in connection with today’s intensive ferry traffic and environmental protectionists who believe wildlife will suffer from the project.<ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Germany, Denmark to Build Controversial New Bridge |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2651109,00.html |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |publisher= |date=2007-06-29 |accessdate= }}</ref> |
There have been objections from local people in [[Germany]], both those fearing loss of jobs in connection with today’s intensive ferry traffic and environmental protectionists who believe wildlife will suffer from the project.<ref>{{cite news |first= |last= |authorlink= |coauthors= |title=Germany, Denmark to Build Controversial New Bridge |url=http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,2651109,00.html |work=[[Deutsche Welle]] |publisher= |date=2007-06-29 |accessdate= }}</ref> |
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The bridge has been discussed for more than 30 years. At that time the only possible link was towards Hamburg, as going towards East Germany wasn't a viable option. |
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Although time have changed and Europe has been politically and economically reshaped in the meantime, the link direction has stayed the course. |
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This has been highly criticized as connecting the two capitals, Copenhagen and Berlin and, on a larger scale Scandinavia to Poland and the eastern part of Europe, would make much more sense and it would be much more business profitable. |
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===Environmental impact=== |
===Environmental impact=== |
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Revision as of 10:50, 30 January 2010
The Fehmarn Belt bridge (Danish: Femern Bælt-forbindelsen, German: Fehmarnbelt-Querung) is a project to connect the German island of Fehmarn with the Danish island of Lolland with a bridge crossing the 18-kilometre (11 mi) wide Fehmarn Belt in the Baltic Sea, thus providing a direct link by motorway and rail between Hamburg, Germany and Copenhagen, Denmark and shortening journey times considerably. It is expected to be completed in 2018.[1]
Characteristics
The bridge will have a total length of approximately 19 km (12 mi) and will be constructed as a triple-span cable-stayed bridge with each of the three spans being 724 metres (2,375 ft) long. The four pillars carrying the bridge will be approximately 280 m (919 ft) tall. The vertical clearance will be 65 m (213 ft) allowing sea traffic with large ships to and from the Baltic Sea to go beneath it.
The design of the bridge link is being carried out by Dissing+Weitling for the aesthetical features and by COWI and Obermeyer for the structural aspects. The design involves four road lanes and two rail tracks, one main span and several land works on both sides. The latest[when?] cost estimate is DKK 42 bn (EUR 5 bn).[citation needed]
This cost includes EUR 1.5 bn for other improvements such as electrifying and rebuilding 160 km (99 mi) of railway from single to double track. New bridges at Fehmarn Sound (1 km) and Storstrøm (slightly more than 3 km/about 2 miles) would be needed. However, according to the treaty the Fehmarn Sound bridge need not be replaced, and the Storstrøm Bridge will also not be replaced.[2] Also, the German double track construction will be delayed by seven years according to the treaty.
The bridge and the double track will shorten the rail journey from Hamburg to Copenhagen from 4¾ to 3-3¼ hours. According to plans there will be one passenger train and two freight trains over the bridge per direction per hour.[2] There will be congestion and delays on the German side with this traffic if the double track construction is delayed.
The road between Copenhagen and Hamburg is already a motorway except for 25 km in Germany (35 km until 2008). The rest is a single carriageway expressway. It shall be widened to a motorway except the Fehmarn Sound (1 km). It is possible that it will be delayed much further since the forecasted AADT, 9000 vehicles, does not make a four-lane road necessary. There is no penalty in the treaty for delayed construction.
The project is comparable to the Øresund Bridge, the Great Belt Bridge or plans for the Strait of Messina Bridge and will be the largest planned infrastructure project in Northern Europe. The route is the main connection between Hamburg, (Hamburg Metropolitan Region), and Copenhagen/Malmö, (Øresund Region); (in German: [Vogelfluglinie] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help), in Danish: fugleflugtslinjen) as well as further destinations in Scandinavia.
Project history
On 29 June 2007, an interim agreement was reached in Berlin between the Danish and German authorities (represented by their transport ministers) to proceed with the construction of the bridge.[3] Details provided by Danmarks Radio state that the Fehmarn Belt bridge will run 19 km (12 mi) from a point about 2 km (1 mi) east of Rødby in Denmark to Puttgarden on the island of Fehmarn which is already connected by bridge to the German mainland. Construction will start in 2011 and is expected to be completed in 2018.
The bridge will be financed by state-guaranteed loans, which will be paid by the road and train fees. Denmark will be solely responsible for guaranteeing the funding of the project at an estimated cost of DKK 35 billion or EUR 4.7 billion.[4] German participation will be limited to the development of the land-based facilities on the German side.[5] Denmark will own the bridge outright, will be allowed to keep the fees after the loans have been paid, and will enjoy any employment opportunities at the toll station. The fees are also planned to pay for the Danish railway upgrading.
On the German side the road shall be upgraded to 4 lanes and railway to 2 tracks according to the treaty. This will be paid by the German tax payers, not by the bridge fees.
The European Union has this project as one of the 30 prioritised transport infrastructure projects (TEN-T) and will support the project with a contribution, probably around 5-10 %.
On 3 September 2008, the ministers of transportation from Denmark and Germany—Carina Christensen and Wolfgang Tiefensee—signed the treaty for the construction of the Femern Belt bridge, at a ceremony held in Copenhagen.[6] It will now have to be ratified by the respective parliaments. On 26 March 2009, the construction was given the final go ahead by the Danish parliament[7]. The German parliament approved the scheme 18 June 2009[8].
Criticism
There have been objections from local people in Germany, both those fearing loss of jobs in connection with today’s intensive ferry traffic and environmental protectionists who believe wildlife will suffer from the project.[9]
The bridge has been discussed for more than 30 years. At that time the only possible link was towards Hamburg, as going towards East Germany wasn't a viable option. Although time have changed and Europe has been politically and economically reshaped in the meantime, the link direction has stayed the course. This has been highly criticized as connecting the two capitals, Copenhagen and Berlin and, on a larger scale Scandinavia to Poland and the eastern part of Europe, would make much more sense and it would be much more business profitable. A Gedser-Rostock bridge, about 50 km (31 mi) further east, has been proposed as an alternative to the Fehmarn Belt bridge.
Environmental impact
The bridge will create one more barrier for the water exchange to the Baltic Sea, which is dependent from the supply of fresh water from the North Sea. The components crucial for marine ecosystems as oxygen and salt reach the Baltic Sea via Skagerag and Kattegat. Creating additional obstacles would restrict further the supply of mentioned components, causing deterioration of the water quality and increase of the undesirable algae species all over Baltic coastlines.[citation needed] It is however shown for the Great Belt bridges and the Øresund bridge that with compensation excavation no such additional obstacle appears [10].
Furthermore, the bridge would be placed on one of the most important bird migration hotspots,[11] and seriously influence rare and endangered bird species. The construction works of the bridge would affect already sharply regressing populations of marine mammals as seals and porpoises, through obstructing their migrations and deteriorating the animals´ echo- location ability.[citation needed] In order to predict precisely far reaching consequences of the construction for the sensitive marine ecosystems, much more research would need to be done.[citation needed]
Social concerns
Constructing the bridge and shifting the cargo transport away from ferry means a radical decrease in ferry operation and loss of the jobs linked to the affected harbours. In the same time, employment connected to the bridge construction works would be only short-term. Furthermore, it seems as the project might be economically unjustified. The predictions of the passenger traffic and goods transport may be overestimated and there is a considerable risk that the investment will be not paid back.[12] Some suggest that the first planning of the bridge draw on the times of Cold War and after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the EU eastern enlargement, the traffic flows have changed profoundly, thus, the bridge´s location is no longer justified.[13]
References
- ^ Multi billion euro Denmark/Germany bridge link trend-news
- ^ a b Tekniske løsningsmodeller for de danske landanlæg
- ^ Comments by Danish Transport and energy secretary Flemming Hansen, June 29, 2007
- ^ Danmark hænger på Femern-regning, Danmarks Radio 29 June 2007
- ^ Tiefensee: Durchbruch für feste Fehmarnbeltquerung, German ministry of transport 29 June 2007
- ^ Femern Bælt A/S' responsibilities
- ^ http://politiken.dk/newsinenglish/article677907.ece
- ^ http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/jun/17/baltic-sea-fehmarnbelt-bridge
- ^ "Germany, Denmark to Build Controversial New Bridge". Deutsche Welle. 2007-06-29.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Øresundsbron and the environment
- ^ German Nature Protection Society
- ^ Expert Report on the Traffic Forecasts and Cost Calculations of the Proposed Fixed Fehmarnbelt Link, Munich 2008
- ^ Background information by Michael Cramer, Member of the European Parliament