By Rose Bell
Considering that authorities of the City of Helsinki and Port of Helsinki decided on the tunnel route, construction of a tunnel beneath the harbour in Helsinki has moved a step closer.
The two authorities’ planning is based on so-called option A to link Jätkäsaari to Länsiväylä via a tunnel and divert port traffic from the city.
Through this Port of Helsinki’s tunnel project, passenger car will be allowed to ferry traffic to Tallinn to be concentrated at the West Harbour and lorry traffic to and from the harbour to be moved away from the streets. It will enable the City of Helsinki to develop the South Harbour into an area that better serves the city’s residents.
According to director Rikhard Manninen from the City of Helsinki Urban Environment Division: “The different route options of the harbour tunnel were thoroughly examined. We concluded that using option A as the basis of detailed planning was the best solution in terms of meeting Helsinki’s land use objectives in the near future.”
“This option provides the preconditions for taking into account energy production needs and opportunities to carry out significant urban development in the South Harbour. That being said, the option does come with its own set of challenges, in relation to which we must strive to minimize the environmental impacts of the project and preserve the living conditions of endangered species in the Lapinlahti area,” he added.
The species include the Siberian flying squirrel, which inhabits trees on the tunnel alignment, and turnip-rooted chervil in Lapinlahti park, which provides a habitat for the endangered depressaria chaerophylli moths.
Port of Helsinki CEO Ville Haaspasaari said the tunnel would benefit not just the port.
“The benefits of the tunnel will extend more widely to southern Helsinki’s traffic, as centralizing the ferry traffic will reduce port-related car traffic in central Helsinki by as much as 75% compared to the current situation,” he said.
The responsibility of processing tunnel’s local detailed plan will be up to the City of Helsinki Urban Environment Committee later this year and it is due to be decided on by the City Council in autumn 2025. The intention of Port of Helsinki is to obtain a building permit for the tunnel in 2028.
The scheduled date for inauguration of this tunnel is early in the next decade.
