The Fehmarnbelt link will have little impact on Southern Jutlanders and the inhabitants of North-West Germany

One of the conclusions of the analysis, 'Consequences of fixed links across the Fehmarnbelt and Kattegat for the Region of Southern Denmark', is that a Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link will have very limited impact on traffic through the region. The effect is expected to be greatest at the Danish-German border, where traffic is expected to be reduced by just over three per cent.

The Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link will remove some rail freight in transit through the Region of Southern Denmark, but this will only create more space on the rails and better service for rail passengers and will only have marginal significance for the transport industry in the region. Nor will the tourist industry suffer.

Overall the analysis shows that the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link will not have any negative effect on the economy and employment in the region.

According to the analysis, a Kattegat fixed link would have far more serious consequences for the region. In 2030, a fixed link across the Kattegat could cause a loss of production worth DKK 28 billion in the region. Employment would fall. The municipalities would lose taxes worth approximately DKK 4 billion and the congestion problems in the Triangle Region would not be solved because traffic would only be reduced by four per cent.

Traffic pressure eased in Schleswig

Schleswig and Southern Denmark have become a high-volume transit region since the construction of the bridge across the Great Belt. In the next three years, traffic will increase to up to 35,000 motor vehicles a day. This is a bonus for the region but also has a negative impact. The Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link will provide some relief here. 

"The Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link is a traffic project of European importance. It would also help reduce the heavy, constantly growing volume of traffic through the Schleswig-Flensburg region, which is a burden on our major traffic arteries, above all the A7 motorway," says Peter-Michael Stein, Managing Director of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (IHK) in Schleswig-Holstein. "Nonetheless, the necessary investment in the Jutland route must also be guaranteed."   

The background to this is that the Schleswig region has, for some time, been advocating various infrastructure investments. These include extending the west coast motorway past Heide, the associated western crossing of the Elbe near Hamburg or upgrading the A7 as the most important north-south route. Between the Bordesholm motorway junction and the tunnel under the Elbe in Hamburg, the road is already being widened from four to six or eight lanes in order to enable the region to cope with the ever-growing volume of traffic. 

Mayor Bockholt in Niebüll on the German west coast is of a similar opinion: "When I look at the information available as a whole, I take a relatively relaxed approach to the development of the Fehmarnbelt Fixed Link. However, I urgently demand that the A23 –B5 – A11 be upgraded. The Danes are way ahead and have already provided around DKK 10 million for the feasibility plans and route planning."