The Danish Road Directorate has hired a team of US engineer Jacobs and Denmark’s Rambøll to help build a tunnel from the country’s busiest port at Aarhus to siphon cargo trucks – fast-growing in number – off the city’s busy Marselis Boulevard.
The award comes after the Danish Parliament approved the long-discussed project in June.
The Marselis Tunnel would let trucks avoid Marselis Boulevard and drive underground straight to the E45 Østjyske Motorway.
The International Tunnelling and Underground Space Association reports that the tunnel will be cut-and-cover, and 2km in length.
Aarhus port already handles 70% of cargo travelling through Denmark, but a combination of new container routes and geopolitical tensions have led to record-breaking levels of cargo.
July saw a 45% jump in container volume with 86,835 20-foot-equivalents handled, the highest number ever recorded, up from 59,726 in June.
Tunnel construction is due to begin in 2028. Planning and design are currently underway.
Jacobs and Rambøll will provide construction management services and mechanical and electrical design.
“It is a complex task to build a tunnel on one of the busiest access roads to Aarhus,” said the road directorate’s senior project manager Michael Schmidt Vosgerau.
“We will need international experience, because there are no similar projects like this that have been delivered before in Denmark.”
- Subscribe here to get stories about construction around the world in your inbox three times a week
Further Reading:
