Ferries would replace Denmark’s key bridges in a crisis

A new political agreement plans ferry routes if the two Lillebælt bridges or the Great Belt Bridge cannot be used, DR reports. The plan is intended to keep traffic moving between Jutland, Funen and Zealand during a crisis.

Under the agreement, Sund & Bælt Holding A/S will take over responsibility for the bridges over Lillebælt and coordinate emergency transport options between the regions if the bridges are out of service. The connections are critical infrastructure, the agreement says.

Transport Minister Karina Lorentzen Dehnhardt said the risk of such a situation was very low, but Denmark needed a plan to help people travel if an incident occurred. Conservative transport spokesperson Mai Mercado said the agreement would bring expertise together at Sund & Bælt and provide longer-term planning in case of sabotage.

The plan raises concerns about ambulance services in the Region of Southern Denmark. Kim Ahlers, head of the region’s emergency call centre, said the Lillebælt bridges were central to the region’s hospital system, including transfers from Jutland to Odense University Hospital.

Authorities will now consider how ambulance operations should be adjusted. Ahlers said the region’s hospital system was effectively divided in two if ambulances could not cross Lillebælt, with the university hospital at one end and many residents at the other.

Jarl Vagn Hansen, emergency services director at Trekantbrand, welcomed the planning but said local authorities would need to be involved. The bridges’ emergency preparedness responsibilities were previously split between Banedanmark, the Danish Road Directorate and Sund & Bælt. The new agreement consolidates responsibility at Sund & Bælt Holding A/S.