Hamburg’s historic Elbtunnel will be fully refurbished by 2026 – image courtesy of © Yayanus, Dreamstime.com
The refurbishment work for the Elbtunnel close to Hamburg in Germany is continuing. The improvement project is now expected to cost €114 million and will take a further five years for all the necessary work to be completed. This is a considerable increase from the original estimate for the improvement pricetag, a mere €16 million.
The eastern tube for the tunnel reopened in 2019 following an eight-year refurbishment and work was then carried out on the western bore. The majority of the work on the tunnel should be finished by 2024. However, more work will still have to be carried out such as the addition of additional stairs.
Although the historic tunnel is no longer a major transport link, now that Hamburg benefits from a much larger highway tunnel originally opened in 1971, the old Elbtunnel is still an important connection for the city. Hamburg is benefiting from a number of major road upgrades in and around the city at present.
The historic tunnel measures 426m in length, featuring twin tubes that are 6m in diameter and was initially completed in 1911. The repair work was required to help maintain the link, but initial investigations uncovered the need for more work.
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