BRICK BY BRICK
Inside world’s biggest ‘Lego tunnel’ that will be DUNKED underwater to connect Denmark & Germany in $7bn mega-project
The record-breaking tunnel build will require painstaking precision
THE world's biggest underwater "Lego tunnel" will soon be dunked into the ocean to create a bustling connection between Denmark and Germany.
The $7billion mega-project will install a sub-aquatic expressway for cars and trains between Puttgarden, on Germany's Fehmarn Island, and Rodby, on Denmark's Lolland Island.
The new transport artery will accommodate a four-lane motorway and dual-track railway.
But what makes the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel so special is the revolutionary engineering approach in its construction.
It's going to be pieced together from 89 individual "precast" chunks that are built on land.
These will then be sunk 40m down into the Baltic Sea and expertly joined to form the 18km-long corridor.
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Lowering them in to place will require extreme precision so everything lines up perfectly.
Each section of the passage will weigh a gob-smacking 73,500 tonnes and be 217m long - more than two full-size footie pitches.
The factory producing these needed to be built specially because they are so enormous.
The segments are fitted with watertight seals, called "bulkheads", to keep the water out once they're in place on the sea bed.
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Usually, underwater tunnels are literally carved out through the earth with giant boring machines.
By making the blocks on land, the developers can minimise the disturbance to the marine world.
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They have also put in place measures to limit the construction noise, and have carefully plotted where to lay the blocks to avoid damaging delicate habitats.
The groundbreaking project will open up northern Europe and create a world of possibilities by connecting the two countries.
At the moment, it takes over 45 minutes to pootle across the Fehmarnbelt Strait in the ferry.
Once the tunnel is up-and-running, the journey will take a mere seven minutes by train and ten by car.
The tunnel will also slash the rail journey time between Copenhagen and Hamburg from 4.5 hours to 2.5 hours.
Joining the two shores will also strengthen communities and boost the opportunity for trade.
The ribbon is due to be cut in 2029.
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The Fehmarnbelt tunnel will become the longest underwater passage in the world, surpassing the Øresund Tunnel in Sweden which is 7.8km-long.
It has been touted as a symbol of European unity and cross-border collaboration.
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