Motorring 3 to gain a fourth lane and quieter asphalt

Most of Copenhagen’s Motorring 3 will be widened from three lanes to four, with noise-reducing asphalt added and the speed limit cut from 110 to 90 km/h, DR reports.

The 17-kilometre motorway bypass runs west of Copenhagen from Jægersborg to Brøndby Strand. More than 145,000 vehicles use it each day. The expansion will use the emergency lane as the fourth lane.

Gladsaxe Mayor Serdal Benli welcomed the planned asphalt and lower speed limit, saying they should make a noticeable difference to traffic noise. He said he would have preferred not to use the emergency lane as a regular traffic lane, and that he and other mayors would like the speed limit lowered further, to 80 km/h.

Road Directorate studies indicate that noise could fall by three to four decibels at around 40 per cent of homes along the motorway after the noise-reducing drainage asphalt is laid.

The expansion was previously postponed after a Road Directorate report concluded it would be a poor investment for society. Updated traffic calculations now show it to be a positive investment, according to the Transport Ministry.

Work is scheduled to start in 2027, with the project expected to be completed between 2029 and 2030.