Search for?
04 November 2026

The Storebælt Bridge to be lifted 84 times in historic renovation project

Following an extensive tender process, Sund & Bælt has selected a contractor to carry out a comprehensive renovation of the bridge bearings on The Storebælt Bridge’s West Bridge. The work will begin in 2027 and will be carried out while traffic continues to cross the bridge.

For more than 25 years, The Storebælt Bridge has connected Denmark and made it easy for people travelling by car and train to cross the country. To ensure that the bridge remains in good condition for many generations to come, Sund & Bælt continuously maintains the link.

Now the time has come for a very special part of The West Bridge’s structure. Sund & Bælt has entered into a contract with the contractor MT Højgaard Danmark to renovate a total of 188 bridge bearings, 44 of which will be completely replaced. The renovation project is one of the largest and most complex since The West Bridge opened in 1997, and the contract is worth DKK 232 million.

“The Storebælt Bridge is built to last for many years, but traffic and the weather cause wear and tear on the bridge, which means that we need to continuously maintain and renew vital components. It is both a large and technically demanding task, and with the contractor in place, we can now take the next major step in the project,” says Finn Raun Gottfredsen, Project Manager at Sund & Bælt and responsible for the renovation project.

A complicated task

The almost seven-kilometre-long West Bridge rests on bridge bearings. Between the upper and lower parts of the bearings is a sliding plate made of Teflon. The sliding plates ensure that the bridge can safely expand when it is hot and contract when it is cold. After more than 25 years of wear and tear, it is now time for the plates to be replaced and the bearings renovated.

To remove the bridge bearings, the bridge itself has to be lifted. This is done one bridge span at a time. Each bridge span is around 110 metres long and weighs approximately 5,500 tonnes. It must be lifted by around 20 millimetres to create enough space to remove the bearings and renovate or replace them. This process will be repeated 84 times. The method was tested in a trial lift in November 2024, when the bridge was lifted using 12 specially designed jacks without affecting traffic on Storebælt.

“What makes this task special is that we have to carry out very extensive work on one of Denmark’s most important transport links while cars and trains must still be able to pass. This placed significant demands on us when we developed and tested the method, and it will also be crucial when we begin the renovation itself,” says Finn Raun Gottfredsen.

MT Højgaard Danmark will use a specially developed solution with work platforms beneath the bridge, enabling the work to be carried out without affecting road or rail traffic. The work is expected to be completed over three construction seasons from April 2027 to November 2029.

See how The Storebælt Bridge is lifted here: