Great Belt (Storebaelt) Road & Railway Tunnel

The fixed link across the Great Belt (Storebælt) in Denmark is one of Scandinavia’s most significant transport infrastructure projects, connecting the eastern and western parts of the country. The scheme comprises the Eastern Bridge and the immersed tunnel beneath the western channel, forming a vital corridor toward Copenhagen and mainland Europe. During construction, the tunnel works faced severe challenges, including major flooding incidents and a significant fire, placing exceptional technical and safety demands on the project. Despite these events, the works were stabilised, recovery strategies implemented, and the link was successfully completed and opened to traffic in 1997.

Rupert Sternath served as Tunnel Director for the project, appointed by the MT Group Joint Venture during this critical and technically demanding phase of delivery. His leadership contributed to overcoming the complex emergency conditions and restoring progress on one of Europe’s most high-profile and strategically important transport links, which today forms a key component of the trans-European road and rail network.