Świna Tunnel

The Świna Tunnel is a road tunnel under the bed of the Świna river in Świnoujście, linking the islands of Uznam (Usedom) and Wolin. It opened on 30 June 2023. It ended the daily queues for the ferries and gave the left-bank part of the town, with the spa and most of the residents, a permanent road link with the rest of the country. Vehicles drive through it, while pedestrians and cyclists still use the ferry crossing.

Why it was built

Until the tunnel opened, the only way across the Świna was by ferry. There were two crossings, Świnoujście Centrum and Warszów, both free of charge. The average crossing time, including waiting to board, was 40 minutes, and in summer it could stretch to 3 hours. The alternative was a detour through German territory. The crossing lies close to the port in Świnoujście, which handles sea traffic.

An idea from before the war

A tunnel under the Świna was already being considered in the 1930s. In 1935 the Świnoujście Port Construction Authority presented a design for a tunnel near the railway station, and in 1938 the government in Szczecin recommended a company from Mannheim to build it. The tender of August 1939 selected a contractor, but work was halted a few months after the outbreak of war. After the war the idea returned in the 1960s and 1970s, and in 1996 a Public Committee for the Construction of the Tunnel was founded. It was finally built in 2019-2023.

How the tunnel was built

The construction site was handed over to the contractor on 10 October 2019. The main section was bored by a tunnel boring machine (TBM) made in Wuhan, China. It was accepted remotely, taken apart into 129 pieces and shipped to Świnoujście, arriving on 7 October 2020. Assembled, the machine was 105 metres long, 13.46 metres in diameter and weighed 2,740 tonnes. It was named Wyspiarka. Boring began on 5 March 2021 and was completed on 19 September 2021.

Specifications

• Total tunnel length: 1.780 km, of which 1.484 km was built with the TBM and 0.295 km by the cut-and-cover method.
• Access roads: 3.4 km in total.
• Internal diameter: 12 metres; a two-way carriageway with 3.5 m lanes and an evacuation gallery below the road.
• Deepest point: about 38 m below sea level.
• Section speed control operates along the whole tunnel, with a limit of 50 km/h.

The tunnel is part of national road no. 93. The western portal is near Karsiborska Street and the eastern one by Fińska Street, at the end of the Polish section of the E65 route. In the first summer after opening, more than 20,000 vehicles a day passed through it, and in the first year more than 4.6 million.

Pedestrians and cyclists

The tunnel is closed to pedestrians and cyclists, as well as to horse-drawn vehicles, agricultural tractors and vehicles carrying hazardous materials. Pedestrians and cyclists cross on the “Bielik” ferries at the Warszów crossing, which after the tunnel opened were to run every 30 minutes, and the town supplemented public transport with buses. According to information from the time of opening, the ferry crossing remained free of charge. Current frequencies are published by the town.

Nearby

Within a few kilometres of the tunnel are the Sea Fisheries Museum, the Spa Park and the Świnoujście Lighthouse.

Practical information

• Location: under the Świna in Świnoujście, between Karsiborska Street and Fińska Street.
• For drivers: the tunnel is on national road no. 93, with section speed control at 50 km/h.
• On foot and by bicycle: the Warszów ferry crossing; check the timetable on the town's website before you travel.
• The rules for driving through, including any charges, are published by the road manager.