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Warsaw (dpa) - In the Polish port city of Świnoujście (Świnoujście), construction of a car tunnel under the Świnoujście has begun.
"Our dream is a strong coastal region that not only forms a window to the world, but also integrates Poland and strengthens our development opportunities," said Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Friday before the tunnel boring machine started moving on the Usedom side.
Swinoujscie is divided by the Swine, an arm of the Baltic Sea that runs between the islands of Usedom and Wollin and connects the Szczecin Lagoon with the sea.
The tunnel is intended to connect the two islands and thus also the districts on them.
So far, drivers and pedestrians have to cross over by ferry.
Swinoujscie mayor Janusz Zmurkewicz said that cars would be able to drive through the tunnel as early as the summer of 2023.
The huge tunnel boring machine can advance a maximum of six centimeters per minute.
Overall, the tunnel will have a length of almost 1.8 kilometers, which, according to the city administration, will make it the longest structure of its kind in Poland.
The costs are the equivalent of 209 million euros.
The EU takes over 85 percent of this, the rest comes from the budget of the city of Swinoujscie.
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On the German side of Usedom there are concerns that the tunnel could lead to an even higher traffic load on the island.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210305-99-705580 / 2