Centre-right parties in Copenhagen’s City Hall want the Osterbro Tunnel project planned 2014 opening to be postponed in lieu of a larger connection.
A planned tunnel from the Osterbro district of Copenhagen to the Helsingor motorway is insufficient to handle future traffic needs, according to council members from the Liberal, Conservative and Danish People Party.
The parties aired their concerns to fellow party members at parliament, arguing there isn’t enough money to adequately fund the project.
The members said the project risks ending up as a compromise solution that will paralyse train traffic on the regional Coast Line and the S-train lines for several months during construction.
According to the three parties, the reason the city’s traffic growth rates haven’t been taken into account, so they believe the project should be put on hold until funding for an extra two lanes can be secured.
The current cost of the tunnel is around DKK 2bn (USD 363.6M). The parties’ proposed six-lane connection would cost DKK 5bn (USD 909M), according to the city’s technical environment department.
The City of Copenhagen will finance the bulk of the project, with additional financial aid coming from the state.
Liberal Party council member Lars Dueholm told local media, “A four lane road would be under-dimensioned when coupled to a harbour tunnel.”
“We also believe there will be big problems for the area’s residents if we go the cheap route, because the construction will lie flush up against some large housing blocks.”
Dueholm also pointed out that national train operator DSB estimated that some 40,000 passengers will be affected daily by the current construction plans. It was also revealed that DSB would expect about DKK 1.8M (USD 327,000) a week in compensation.
Despite all of this, transport minister Hans Christian Schmidt is sticking to the 2014 deadline for the project, as the original agreement did not include the option to renegotiate.
“We have an agreement with the City of Copenhagen and from the state’s side we’ve delivered our part of the financial contributions,” Schmidt said. “So I expect that they can deliver their part of the agreement so the connection can open in 2014.”