Fehmarnbelt Tunnel Geotechnical Investigation

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Fugro has completed a nearshore geotechnical investigation for the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel, the world’s longest immersed tunnel that will connect Denmark and Germany by road and rail. The client was Femern Link Contractors, the consortium building the 18 km tunnel that will reduce travel time between the two countries and contribute to a greener transport system. Fugro has been involved in the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel project for the last 10 years, from early site investigation work up to the current geotechnical study. This latest phase included geotechnical site characterisation of the sub-seabed soil at both tunnel entrances and, on the Danish side, the production facility where the hollow concrete tunnel elements are being made. Fugro deployed their Skate 3 jack-up platform, a custom-designed geotechnical spread, and a specialist data acquisition team to perform core drilling and downhole cone penetration tests. The resulting data were then analysed to determine subsurface uncertainty to reduce the contractor’s and client’s ground risk exposure by providing secured geotechnical design input parameters.