3rd section of tunnel lowered into place in Baltic Sea

Another 220-metre long concrete section of the planned Fehmarn Belt Tunnel has been sunk to the Baltic Sea bed, reported dpa.

This brings the total to three sections for the world's longest immersed tunnel now resting on the seabed between Denmark and Germany, the operating company Femern A/S announced on Sunday.

The 18-kilometre-long tunnel will ultimately consist of 89 sections. When completed, it will carry trains and a four-lane motorway - two lanes in each direction. Cars are expected to take around 10 minutes to travel through the Fehmarn Belt, whilst trains should take around seven.

The project is regarded as one of Europe's largest infrastructure projects.

The first tunnel segment for the crossing between the German island of Fehmarn and the Danish island of Lolland was lowered into position at the start of May.

The tunnel segments, each weighing 73,500 metric tons, are being manufactured in Rødbyhavn on Lolland. Each one is roughly the size of a cargo ship.

Five tugs began transporting the concrete section to the tunnel trench on Thursday evening, where it was positioned above the trench using steel cables.

The actual lowering operation began later on Thursday night, and by Saturday morning, it was correctly positioned on the seabed and connected to the section of the tunnel that had already been installed, according to the operating company.

The tunnel section will now be covered with stones and gravel to secure it in the tunnel trench.

Originally, the Baltic Sea Tunnel was due to be completed in 2029, but the construction of the 18-kilometre-long tunnel is at least two years behind schedule.