New Elbe Tunnel
Encyclopedia
The New Elbe Tunnel often simply called Elbe Tunnel in English is the Elbe
river crossing in northern Germany
.
, the tunnel forms a connection between Schleswig-Holstein
(and on towards Denmark
) to the north and Lower Saxony
to the south. It has 8 lanes in 4 bores. The newest, fourth bore is the only one to feature a hard shoulder, minimizing congestion
due to broken down vehicles.
. On 10 January 1975 Chancellor of Germany Helmut Schmidt
opened the Elbe Tunnel. The tunnel was constructed with a capacity for 65,000 cars daily.
In 1989 concrete tank barriers were constructed on the three south entrances. In war times these barriers would have been exploded out of their resting places. The barriers were removed in 2000 during construction of the 4th bore.
(TBM), the front plate of the machine being 14.65 m (48 ft 1 in) in diameter. The machine was named Trude, a short form of the name Gertrud, and an acronym for Tief runter unter die Elbe (deep down under the Elbe). The European Space Agency
helped in engineering aspects of the tunnel project for the tunnel boring machine.
The centre bores carry reversible lane
s which switch direction in anticipation of commuter flows, similar to those of Caldecott Tunnel
in Oakland, California
. So, for example, more lanes are available for the morning commute into the city center in the northward direction Flensburg
, and more in the southbound direction of Hanover
for traffic leaving the city in the evening.
s, highway barriers and variable message signs are in use to regulate 150,000 vehicles per day.
All bores are equipped with an automated height control at each entrance. As soon as a vehicle with a height of more than 4 meters enters the tunnel, the system will stop all traffic in that lane and direction of traffic. This will ensure that overheight trucks will not damage the tunnel. The tunnel fire brigade and tunnel police will then direct the truck out of the tunnel so that traffic can resume.
Elbe
The Elbe is one of the major rivers of Central Europe. It rises in the Krkonoše Mountains of the northwestern Czech Republic before traversing much of Bohemia , then Germany and flowing into the North Sea at Cuxhaven, 110 km northwest of Hamburg...
river crossing in northern Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
Description
The Elbe Tunnel has a length of 3.1 kilometres (1.9 mi). As a part of the Bundesautobahn 7 in HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, the tunnel forms a connection between Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
(and on towards Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
) to the north and Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony is a German state situated in north-western Germany and is second in area and fourth in population among the sixteen states of Germany...
to the south. It has 8 lanes in 4 bores. The newest, fourth bore is the only one to feature a hard shoulder, minimizing congestion
Traffic congestion
Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...
due to broken down vehicles.
History
The tunnel was constructed from 1968 to 1975 with three bores, containing a total of six autobahn lanes serving the city of HamburgHamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
. On 10 January 1975 Chancellor of Germany Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Schmidt
Helmut Heinrich Waldemar Schmidt is a German Social Democratic politician who served as Chancellor of West Germany from 1974 to 1982. Prior to becoming chancellor, he had served as Minister of Defence and Minister of Finance. He had also served briefly as Minister of Economics and as acting...
opened the Elbe Tunnel. The tunnel was constructed with a capacity for 65,000 cars daily.
Widening
To meet the demands of increasing traffic, on 27 October 2002 a fourth bore was opened with two more lanes. It was drilled through the ground by the world's largest tunnel boring machineTunnel boring machine
A tunnel boring machine also known as a "mole", is a machine used to excavate tunnels with a circular cross section through a variety of soil and rock strata. They can bore through anything from hard rock to sand. Tunnel diameters can range from a metre to almost 16 metres to date...
(TBM), the front plate of the machine being 14.65 m (48 ft 1 in) in diameter. The machine was named Trude, a short form of the name Gertrud, and an acronym for Tief runter unter die Elbe (deep down under the Elbe). The European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
helped in engineering aspects of the tunnel project for the tunnel boring machine.
The centre bores carry reversible lane
Reversible lane
A reversible lane , called a counterflow lane or contraflow lane in transport engineering nomenclature, is a lane in which traffic may travel in either direction, depending on certain conditions...
s which switch direction in anticipation of commuter flows, similar to those of Caldecott Tunnel
Caldecott Tunnel
The Caldecott Tunnel is a three bore highway tunnel between Oakland, California and Contra Costa County, California. The east-west tunnel is signed as a part of State Route 24, which is also known as the William Byron Rumford...
in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. So, for example, more lanes are available for the morning commute into the city center in the northward direction Flensburg
Flensburg
Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
, and more in the southbound direction of Hanover
Hanover
Hanover or Hannover, on the river Leine, is the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony , Germany and was once by personal union the family seat of the Hanoverian Kings of Great Britain, under their title as the dukes of Brunswick-Lüneburg...
for traffic leaving the city in the evening.
Height Control
The tunnel operation office controls traffic with 72 visual monitors. Traffic lightTraffic light
Traffic lights, which may also be known as stoplights, traffic lamps, traffic signals, signal lights, robots or semaphore, are signalling devices positioned at road intersections, pedestrian crossings and other locations to control competing flows of traffic...
s, highway barriers and variable message signs are in use to regulate 150,000 vehicles per day.
All bores are equipped with an automated height control at each entrance. As soon as a vehicle with a height of more than 4 meters enters the tunnel, the system will stop all traffic in that lane and direction of traffic. This will ensure that overheight trucks will not damage the tunnel. The tunnel fire brigade and tunnel police will then direct the truck out of the tunnel so that traffic can resume.
See also
- Old Elbe TunnelOld Elbe TunnelOld Elbe Tunnel or St. Pauli Elbe Tunnel which opened in 1911, is a pedestrian and vehicle tunnel in Hamburg, Germany...
also known as the "St. Pauli Elbtunnel" - Bundesautobahn 7
Literature
- Ulrich Alexis Christiansen: Hamburgs dunkle Welten. Der geheimnisvolle Untergrund der Hansestadt. Ch.Links Verlag, Berlin 2008, ISBN 3-8615-3473-8 (in German)