Sjæklen 2018

99 Summary A bridge to Fanø – 100 years with failed plans The distance between Jylland and the island of Fanø is only 2 kilometers, which is why for more than a hundred years there has been talk of a bridge to Fanø. The first concrete proposal were put forward in 1913, and since then more than 10 official projects have been prepared, put forward, and negotiated. Some project proposals were simply dams. The most advanced project included a bridge, as this was proposed in 1935 by the South West Jutland Society and concretized by the engineer Chr. Ostenfeld. This project was almost carried out by way of public job creation programmes early in World War Two. However, due to the war unemployment went down and publically funded em- ployment projects were scrapped. After the war, the proposed project were still under negotiation. The layout was changed and adjusted, firstly out of considera- tion to the northern municipality of Nordby, and later in order to adapt to the port of Esbjerg and its traffic connections. Each adjustment delayed the project, and when the Ministry of Public Works finally refused to pay for the bridge, the municipalities at Fanø and in Esbjerg together with Kampsax Entrepreneurs in 1958 established ’Fanø Bridge Ltd’ [A/S Fanø-broen] in order to be able to charge toll as a part of a future funding. A new project came up in 1969 aiming at diking the Wadden Sea in order to reclaim land. Within this project a dam was to be con- structed from Jutland to the southern part of Fanø. By building dikes like this, The Royal Danish Department of Maritime Works aimed at protecting Jutland’s coast against flooding, but a new public awareness about protecting environmental and natural values worked against it and helped to stop the overall diking project. So, why did none of the many bridge project proposal result in an actual bridge? For decades, the general idea did have sub- stantial support. Preparatory studies were carried out, engin- eers drew plans, politicians and public officers prepared de- cisions, and private companies as well as workers were ready to carry out the actual works. But the project was complicated, and when project plans were adjusted decisions were postponed. Many aspects were at stake: customers and guests for the large Fanø hotels, the ques- tion of the ferry line and its future related to Fanø identity, the municipal area of Esbjerg and its need for recreational areas, the risk of sanding-up of the tidal harbours and fairways, and, lastly, the overall question of priorities regarding the national infrastructure. Infrastructural planning not only needs good in- tentions; the timing also needs to be right.