Three basins have been built in front of the tunnel factory at Rødbyhavn in Denmark so the tunnel sections can be shipped out. They are effectively the link between the factory and the work harbour. The basins can be closed at both ends with gates so the water level can be raised above sea level when an element is moved.
The gate, which was built in the middle of basin B, is 45m wide and 21m high. It has eight tanks and, as well as closing the entrance between the harbour and the basin, the gate has a pumping station to fill the basins.
The construction consortium Femern Link Contractors (FLC) filled the three large basins with water in September. The operation took 10 days and was done gradually so as not to damage the barriers between the basins.
Each basin is nearly 11m deep and together they hold around 1.6 million m3 of water.
The tunnel factory – the world’s largest precast concrete element factory – has six production lines, and the casting of the first of 89 tunnel elements has begun. Of the 89 tunnel elements, 79 are standard elements 217m long, 42m wide and 9m high. One standard element is produced from nine castings, each approximately 24m in length, meaning the first segment of the 711 segments has been cast.
Anders Wede said the next milestone would be marked next year when the first finished element would be shipped out.
The 18km-long tunnel will connect Rødbyhavn on Lolland in Denmark and Puttgarden on the German island of Femern.
