The nation's infrastructure has been promised a lift after the government finalised a deal that allows the state's infrastructure fund, Infrastrukturfonden, to pay for improvement projects and injects an additional 3.5 billion kroner into the nation's infrastructure. The deal was made with all of the political parties except the far-left Enhedslisten.
Earlier in the week, the government announced that its infrastructure fund, Infrastrukturfonden, would shell out four billion kroner to replace the ageing Storstrøm bridge between Zealand and Falster and 3.4 billion for a new motorway between Herning and Holstebro.
The deal, which was announced by the Transport Ministry today, has now secured an additional 3.5 billion kroner in funding for a host of projects including subsidising a new bridge over Roskilde Fjord, reducing rail travel time between Aarhus and Aalborg to an hour, and building a new rail connection to Aalborg Airport.
Some 100 million kroner will also be provided for more motorway interchanges, 300 million kroner has been set aside for projects to promote traffic safety, noise reduction and energy-efficient transport, while 500 million kroner will be funnelled into a range of rail and road projects to improve connections between harbours.
Here are details about some of the specific projects.
A new Storstrøm bridge: The Storstrøm bridge between the islands of Zealand and Falster is a vital rail and road link between Copenhagen and the new Fehmarn tunnel to Germany. While ordinary passenger trains can cross it, freight trains have been barred after cracks were found in the bridge's foundation. A new bridge would allow freight access to the tunnel and into Germany, which is one of the ambitions of the tunnel. The new bridge is expected to cost 3.991 billion kroner and will be financed using the government’s infrastructure fund, Infrastrukturfonden.
200 km/h train speed to the Fehmarn tunnel: The rail link between Vordinborg and the Storstrøm bridge, as well as between Orehoved and Rødbyhavn, will be expanded to become a double line while the rail line between Ringsted and Rødbyhavn will be electrified. The goal is to allow trains to travel at 200 km/h between Copenhagen and Germany. The 8.8 billion kroner cost will be financed by the Fehmarn tunnel project.
Holstebro to Herning motorway: A new motorway between Herning and Holstebro and a new road connection to the hospital in Gødstrup are expected to cost 3.4 billion kroner.
New bridge over Roskilde fjord: A new bridge will be constructed south of Frederikssund over Roskilde Fjord. 425 million kroner of the 2.5 billion cost will come from Infrastrukturfonden. The remaining funds will be recouped over 40 years from a toll.
Expansion of Køge Bugt motorway: The Køge Bugt motorway will be expanded from six to eight lanes in its entirety at a cost of 661 million kroner.
Faster rail travel between Aarhus and Aalborg: The rail line between Hobro and Aalborg will be upgraded so trains can travel at 160 km/h. A study will examine the possibility of increasing the speed to 200 km/h along the entire stretch.
