The Świnoujście Tunnel () is a tunnel beneath the

Świna The Świna (; Pomeranian: ''Swina'') is a channel in northwest Poland, between from the German border. It connects the Szczecin Lagoon with the Baltic Sea separating the islands of Uznam (German: Usedom) and Wolin. It is a part of the Oder estu ...

Channel in

Świnoujście Świnoujście (; ; ; meaning " Świna ivermouth"; ) is a city in Western Pomerania and seaport on the Baltic Sea and Szczecin Lagoon, in the extreme north-west of Poland, mainly on the islands of Usedom and Wolin, and Karsibór island, once ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, connecting the islands of

Uznam Usedom ( , ) is a Baltic Sea island in Pomerania, divided between Germany and Poland. It is the second largest Pomeranian island after Rügen, and the most populous island in the Baltic Sea. It lies north of the Szczecin Lagoon estuary of the ...

and

Wolin Wolin (; ) is a Polish island in the Baltic Sea, just off the Polish coast. Administratively, the island belongs to the West Pomeranian Voivodeship. Wolin is separated from the island of Usedom (Uznam) by the Strait of Świna, and from mainla ...

which separate the

Szczecin Lagoon Szczecin Lagoon (, ), also known as Oder Lagoon (), and Pomeranian Lagoon (), is a lagoon in the Oder estuary, shared by Germany and Poland. It is separated from the Pomeranian Bay of the Baltic Sea by the islands of Usedom and Wolin. The la ...

from the

Baltic Sea The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by the countries of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and the North European Plain, North and Central European Plain regions. It is the ...

in north western Poland. It constitutes the only fixed link between two parts of the city and subsequently between the rest of the country and the center of Świnoujście which prior to the tunnels opening in 2023 was accessible only by ferry. The tunnel carries route DK 93 of the Polish national roads network. On the left (west) bank of the Świna Channel, the tunnel begins at Karsiborska Street. On the right (west) bank, the tunnel joins Fińska Street leading to the end of the S3 Expressway which forms the Polish section of the

European route E65 European route E65 is a north-south Class-A European route that begins in Malmö, Sweden and ends in Chania, Greece. The road is about in length. After crossing the Baltic Sea, it proceeds on land from north to south through Poland, the Czech Re ...

. The existing ferry route is preserved for pedestrians and cyclists,

slow moving vehicle A slow moving vehicle (or SMV) is a vehicle or caravan of vehicles operated on a street or highway at speeds slower than that of other motorized traffic. The term "slow moving vehicle" is generally applied to equipment and vehicles such as farm equ ...

s and vehicles carrying dangerous substances which are prohibited in the tunnel.

Geography

Świnoujście is the only city in Poland located on multiple (44 in total) islands and islets, of which only three are permanently inhabited:

, and

Karsibór Karsibór ( or ''Caseburg'') is an island in the Szczecin Lagoon, Poland, which was created by the cutting of the Piast Canal which separated it from the island of Usedom. The island was named after its largest village (now district of the town ...

. Most of the city's population (80 percent) lives on the left bank of the city on the island of Uznam. The westside of the city is also home to the center of the city, hosting services, and tourist points of interest. The right bank of the city on the island of Wolin contains the city's sea, rail, and road transit hub. The city is divided by the strait of the

, which is also the fairway for sea traffic between

Szczecin Szczecin ( , , ; ; ; or ) is the capital city, capital and largest city of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland. Located near the Baltic Sea and the Poland-Germany border, German border, it is a major port, seaport, the la ...

and the

. The island of Uznam lacked direct road access to the rest of Poland. Proposals for a bridge have been deemed infeasible due to the high costs of constructing a structure with the necessary height to provide sufficient clearance for ships traveling to and from the seaport in Szczecin and risk of disrupting maritime traffic. An immersed tube tunnel was also considered but rejected due to required temporary blocking of the shipping lane during construction. The city of Świnoujście provided two toll-free ferry crossings operated by four ships each. An alternative land crossing is possible since the implementation of the

Schengen Agreement The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...

through

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

territory, using a bridge across the river

Peenestrom The Peenestrom is a strait in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, which separates the mainland from the island of Usedom. It is long and is the westernmost connection between the Szczecin Lagoon and the Baltic Sea (together with the Świna and D ...

, but requires a significant detour.

History

In 2006 the government of Poland launched a feasibility study which decided to bore a single tube tunnel between the island, however the project was put on hold in 2011 and unfrozen only in 2016. The contract for the design and construction of the tunnel was signed on 17 September 2018 with a consortium of PORR SA (consortium leader), PORR Bau GmbH,

Gülermak Gülermak Ağır Sanayi İnşaat ve Taahhüt A Ş. (Gülermak in short form; ) is a Turkish construction company, especially for rail transport, established in 1958. Overview Gülermak has been involved in constructing more than 260 km of ...

, and Energopol - Szczecin SA, whose offer amounted to PLN 793.186 million. The original planned opening date of the tunnel was 17 September 2022, but as of 29 October 2022, the date has been moved to a more vague 4th quarter of 2022. The tunnel was opened on 30 June 2023. The cost of the investment is estimated at PLN 915 million, of which 775.6 million comes from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

funds. The Świnoujście local government will contribute nearly PLN 140 million. The lowest point of the tunnel is about below the

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

References

External links

* {{Crossings navbox , structure = Crossings , place =

, bridge = Świnoujście Tunel , bridge signs = , upstream = "Karsibór" ferry
(exclusively for vehicles carrying dangerous materials) , upstream signs = , downstream = "Warszów" ferry , downstream signs = Buildings and structures in Świnoujście Undersea tunnels in Europe Tunnels in Poland 2023 establishments in Poland Tunnels completed in 2023