A BRIDGE TOO FAR?

Denmark has spent much of the past twenty years or so linking its various islands with major bridge and tunnel projects. These include the 20km Great Belt link between Fünen and Zealand, and a 20km link between Amager (the small island close to Copenhagen where the airport is), and southern Sweden. The latter was the setting for the TV series Broen ("the bridge"), which seems to have sold well.

The next big project is to link Lolland, the island at the southern end of Zealand, with northern Germany. There is a road and rail ferry from Rødby in Denmark to Puttgarden near Kiel, but no direct link. By building one, Denmark hopes to shorten transport times for traffic from both the Copenhagen area and more northerly Scandinavian countries to points south. The 19km tunnel will carry a four-lane motorway and two-track railway line, and is due to open in 2021. The total cost is estimated at some kr.41 billion, though that is likely to escalate during construction.

There is only one snag with this project; the Germans have refused to invest a penny in it. Not only will this put a burden on the Danish state, but the project will cannibalise toll revenues from the Great Belt link, which cost a lot and which currently rakes in a lot of money. From Germany's point of view, they don't really care whether foreign lorries enter the country via the land border with Jutland or the new link at Puttgarden. So why invest a lot of money in a new tunnel?

So Denmark will have to go it alone. There is however one domestic political benefit, in that Lolland in general and Rødby in particular are some of the most depressed parts of the country. A huge new construction project will give a welcome boost to local employment; and if traffic forecasts turn out to be correct, then at least some of those jobs may turn from being temporary to permanent.

Walter Blotscher