Some time ago we were asked by the Danish Transport Council to undertake a review of plans to study the viability of fixed connections between Denmark and Germany across the Baltic Sea at Fehmarn Belt. The Danish Transport Council was set up by the Danish Parliament to improve the basis for Danish transport policy by funding research and by carrying out independent studies of current transport issues with policy recommendations to government, Parliament and the general public.

Fehmarn Belt is the strait between Denmark and Germany located in the western part of the Baltic Sea between the islands of Lolland and Fehmarn. The shortest distance across the Belt is the 18.6 km (approximately 11 miles) between Rødbyhavn in Denmark and Puttgarden in Germany. A fixed connection across the Baltic Sea at this location would be one of the largest and most costly cross-national infrastructure projects in the world. Estimates suggest a cost in the range of DKK 20 billion to 35 billion (US$3.3 billion to 5.8 billion) for the coast-to-coast facility, and an additional DKK 15 billion to 30 billion (US$2.5 billion to 5 billion) for connecting access links. As part of an agreement with the Swedish government regarding the Øresund fixed link, the Danish government has committed to building a fixed Fehmarn Belt link, provided such a link is ecologically and economically feasible. The position of the German government is less certain.