Danish Society for Tunnels and Underground Works
Danish Society for Tunnels and Underground Works
The Society was founded in 1983. Our purpose is to promote cooperation with the International Association (ITA) and to promote the development of tunnel and underground works in Denmark.
Our primary activities are to arrange lectures on various tunnel-related topics.
Both companies and individuals can become members of the Society. As a member, you have the opportunity to participate in the Society’s activities, receive information on tunnel-related topics, and be allowed to borrow material from the Society’s library.
News
3. Limfjord Connection – dialog
The Danish Road Directorate is initiating a dialogue with the market to identify the best solutions for the construction of a tunnel under the Limfjord, along with associated roads and bridges.
The Third Limfjord Connection in Aalborg will be a 20-kilometer, four-lane motorway running west of Aalborg via the island of Egholm in the Limfjord.
The purpose of the market dialogue is to draw on the knowledge and experience of the industry before setting requirements and solutions in the tender process.
“It’s not every day we build tunnels in Denmark, and it’s a highly specialized discipline. For that reason, it’s important for us to gather knowledge and experience from market players both nationally and internationally,” says Inge Birkegaard Damsgaard.
In early September, the responses received will be reviewed, and based on this, contractors with interesting input and solutions will be invited to a dialogue meeting with the Danish Road Directorate.
The tender for the Limfjord crossing is planned to be issued in 2026, and construction of the tunnel is scheduled to begin in mid-2027.
ITA Tunnelling Awards 2025 – Winners
A huge congratulations to all the awardees for their outstanding achievements and contributions to the tunnelling and underground space industry.
- Major Project of the Year (over €500M): Shenzhen-Zhongshan Link Immersed Tunnel, China
- Project of the Year (between €100M and 500M): Yangzong Tunnel of the Kunming (Fude Overpass) – Yiliang Expressway in Yunnan Province, China
- Project of the Year (up to €100M): Hongyancun Station of Chongqing Rail Transit Line 9, China
- Technical Innovation of the Year: A World First on Toulouse Metro Line B Connection: Very Low-Carbon Concrete Segments with Metakaolin, France
- Product/Equipement Innovation of the Year: Trackless Transportation System for Large-diameter and Super-long TBM-bored Tunnels, China
- Elevated Thinking Underground: Shaping the Future: Venizelou Metro Station Thessaloniki, Greece
- Young Tunneller of the Year: (co-winners) Andrea Marchioni, Italy & Aida Santos Santamaria, Spain
Client consultant selected for the Marselis Tunnel
On June 19, the Danish Road Directorate announced Ramboll as the consultant for the Marselis Tunnel project in Aarhus.
Ramboll will assist the Road Directorate with all aspects of the project’s detailed planning. The consultant will be responsible for design work, preparing tender documents for the design-and-build contract, and supporting the project through to completion during the entire construction period.
The approximately 2 km long Marselis Tunnel will provide a faster, more direct, and safer route between Aarhus Port, via Åhavevej, and the E45 East Jutland Motorway.
The Marselis Tunnel is part of Infrastructure Plan 2035, and the construction act for the project was adopted by the Danish Parliament on June 3 this year.
Tunnel construction is expected to begin in 2028.
ITA Tunnelling Awards 2025 – Finalists announced
On July 3rd, the ITA announced the finalists for this year’s ITA Tunnelling Awards.
With 51 entries from 27 countries, the judges faced a challenging selection process across the following seven categories:
- Major Project of the Year (more than €500 million)
- Project of the Year (between €100–€500 million)
- Project of the Year (up to €100 million)
- Technical Innovation of the Year
- Product/Equipment Innovation of the Year
- Elevated Thinking Underground: Shaping the Future
- Young Tunneller of the Year
The winners will be announced on October 1, 2025, at the ITA Awards Conference in Belgrade, Serbia.
Andrea Pigorini new ITA Chairman.
At ITA’s 51st General Assembly on May 14 during WTC 2025 in Stockholm, Andrea Pigorini was elected as the new President of the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA).
Pigorini has worked for Italferr SpA since 2002, where he currently heads the Infrastructure Engineering Division.
He served as President of the Italian Tunnelling Association (SIG) from 2013 to 2022 and has been a member of ITA’s Executive Council since September 2022.
Klaus Rieker from Germany was elected as the new First Vice President.
In the same vote, Singapore was chosen as the host city for WTC 2028.
Agreement on M5 and the Eastern Ring Road
On March 28, the Danish government and the City of Copenhagen reached an agreement on the development of Lynetteholm.
As part of the agreement, it was decided to construct a new metro line, M5, which will connect Lynetteholm with the rest of Amager and the wider Copenhagen Metro network.
In addition, it was decided to build the first stage of the Eastern Ring Road, which will provide better road access to the area and can later be extended to connect with Copenhagen Airport in Kastrup.
The first stage of the Eastern Ring Road will connect Nordhavn and Lynetteholm and will be built as a combination of an immersed tunnel and a cut-and-cover tunnel.
First two elements of the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel have left the factory.
In a press release on February 5, 2025, Femern A/S announced that the first two completed tunnel elements for the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel have been pulled out of the dry dock and floated into the large basins in front of the tunnel factory in Rødbyhavn.
Additional elements are expected to be moved into the basins in the coming period, where they will remain until the main contractor, FLC, has carried out the final finishing works.
So far, a total of seven standard elements of the same type have been cast, along with two special elements featuring a basement level for the tunnel’s technical installations. In total, 89 elements will be produced for the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel.
Casting work begins on the Nordhavn Tunnel
Casting has started on the 1.4 km long Nordhavn Tunnel beneath Svanemøllehavnen and Kalkbrænderiløbet in Østerbro, Copenhagen.
Using the Peri casting system, the process begins with the base slab, followed by the central wall, and then the side walls and top slab. The work is carried out from a movable casting carriage, which advances to the next base slab once the walls and top slab are completed.
The Nordhavn Tunnel, an extension of the Nordhavnsvej Tunnel, is being constructed by the Danish Road Directorate’s contractor, Besix – MT Højgaard.
The tunnel is expected to open to traffic in spring 2028.
COWI appointed as client consultant for the Third Limfjord Connection.
On January 21, the Danish Road Directorate announced COWI as the consultant for the upcoming Third Limfjord Connection west of Aalborg.
The project, part of Infrastructure Plan 2035 (2021), involves constructing an approximately 20 km, four-lane motorway running west of Aalborg via Egholm Island, including a tunnel under Sønderdyb and low bridges over Nørredyb.
Construction is expected to begin in 2027 and be completed by 2034.
Hellen Roth – ITA Executive Director
On January 1, 2025, Helen Roth assumed the role of Executive Director at the International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association (ITA).
Roth will lead ITA’s Executive Council and Secretariat, ensuring coordination between ITA and its 80 member nations, committees, working groups, and individual members, as well as its connections with the UN and other global partners.
She previously served as CEO of VIA, Norway’s national transport infrastructure network established in 2016.
Site visit: Fehmarnbelt Tunnel.
On Thursday, November 21, the Danish Association for Tunnelling and Underground Works hosted an excursion to the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel.
In a joint event with the Danish Geotechnical Society, members visited the construction site in Rødbyhavn.
The program included a presentation and guided tour of the Femern A/S exhibition center in Rødbyhavn, followed by a visit to Production Hall C of the tunnel factory, where the tunnel elements for the 18 km immersed tunnel between Rødbyhavn and Puttgarden are cast.
DFTU Study Trip to the Faroe Islands
DFTU conducted a study trip to the Faroe Islands from Thursday, October 3 to Saturday, October 5, 2024.
The program for DFTU members included:
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A presentation on Faroese geology by Jarðfeingi (Faroese Geological Survey)
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A visit to the operational tunnel and water reservoir at Eiði Hydropower Plant
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A presentation and visit to Sornfelli, the old NATO station located at the top of Sornfelli Mountain
Participants also visited Tunlarmir Nordur um Fjall on Borðoy in the northeast of the Faroe Islands, and, of course, the iconic Eysturoy Tunnel, including a presentation on the subsea tunnels in the region.
The trip concluded with a visit to the Dal Tunnel on Sandoy, as seen in the accompanying photo.
Special vessel for immersion arrives at Fehmarnbelt project.
At the end of September, a special vessel arrived at the Fehmarnbelt Tunnel construction site in Rødbyhavn, Lolland to be used for the immersion of tunnel elements.
The vessel, called the Immersion Pontoon, will support the tunnel elements during their departure from the construction harbor. When the 217-meter-long elements leave the factory, they are light enough to float. Before immersion, however, several thousand tons of additional ballast concrete are added, making the elements heavy enough to be lowered into the excavated trench on the seabed.
Analysis of new Little Belt connection put on hold
On July 3, the analysis of a new Little Belt connection was put on pause.
The political parties behind Infrastructure Plan 2035 decided to suspend the strategic analysis of a new crossing over the Little Belt until the results of the preliminary study of a fixed connection between Als and Funen are available. The proposed alignment south of Middelfart (Line 5), which is currently assessed to offer the greatest benefits in terms of travel time and driving costs, must be considered in close relation to the Als–Funen connection.
The ongoing preliminary study of a fixed Als–Funen connection is expected to be completed by the end of 2024.