Challenging tunnel construction project in Copenhagen implemented using PERI solutions

• The Nordhavn Tunnel in Copenhagen is a 1.4-kilometre cut-and-cover tunnel connecting the city centre with the harbour, designed to improve traffic flow and urban connectivity.

• PERI provides advanced formwork and access systems, including VTC Tunnel Formwork Carriages and MAXIMO Wall Formwork, enabling precise and efficient concrete construction.

• Additional PERI solutions like DUO Universal Formwork, MULTIFLEX Girder Slab Formwork, and PERI UP Stair Towers ensure safe working conditions and flexible construction in technical areas.

• PERI's technical support team offers continuous project-specific assistance, structural calculations, and documentation to facilitate smooth and predictable construction progress.

The Nordhavn Tunnel will provide a new link between Copenhagen city centre and the harbour. The unique location and complexity of the 1.4-kilometre-long structure pose significant challenges in terms of organisation and execution. PERI is supporting the project with sophisticated formwork and access solutions, as well as comprehensive technical support, thereby ensuring safe, continuous and predictable construction progress.

Tunnel construction in the heart of the city

The Nordhavn Tunnel will run beneath Svanemølle Harbour and the Kalkbrænderiløbet waterway and shipping channel, providing a direct link between the districts in the north of Copenhagen. This will bring the Nordhavn district, a key urban development area, closer to the existing urban structures. At the same time, an underground transport link is being built, which will relieve pressure on aboveground traffic routes and enable people to travel through the city more quickly.

The new infrastructure comprises two separate tunnel tubes with a total of four lanes and will ensure smooth and safe traffic flow in future. The Nordhavn Tunnel is being constructed using the cut-and-cover method, which allows for a phased and precise implementation. At the same time, it offers good accessibility and safe working conditions – a key advantage in a challenging, inner-city environment.

PERI systems ensure uninterrupted construction progress

To ensure the tunnel construction project progresses efficiently, PERI is supporting the project with a bespoke combination of various formwork, access and load-bearing systems. Eight VTC Tunnel Formwork Carriages are being used for the in-situ concrete construction of the tunnel. These enable repeatable concreting operations with high geometric precision and reliable load transfer, resulting in a smooth and efficient concreting process.

In technical buildings and pumping stations, MAXIMO Wall Formwork ensures a high degree of flexibility for varying geometries, as well as a consistently high-quality concrete finish. Bottom plates and slabs are formed and securely supported using DUO Universal Formwork and MULTIFLEX Girder Slab Formwork in combination with MULTIPROP Shoring Towers. LGS Working Platforms spanning the excavation pit allow for safe and space-saving routing of service lines. The system concept is complemented by PERI UP Stair Towers, which provide safe access to the excavation pit.

Technical support assists with project management and execution

PERI’s technical support team has been involved in the project from the outset and maintains close, ongoing contact with the project and site management teams on site. On this basis, the systems are tailored to meet specific requirements and are backed up by structural calculations and project-specific technical support throughout the planning and implementation phases.

Close communication helps ensure that the project progresses smoothly throughout all stages of construction. Comprehensive technical documentation of the individual planning stages also helps the contractor to carry out the project in a structured and efficient manner, and provides valuable guidance even in later stages of construction. 

The outcome is a comprehensive solution in which high-performance systems, technical expertise and project support complement each other seamlessly.