Øresund BridgeØresund Bridge (Öresund Bridge)The Øresund or Öresund Bridge is a combined railway and motorway cable-stayed bridge across the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is the second longest bridge in Europe with both roadway and railway combined in a single structure, running nearly 8 kilometres (5 miles) from the Swedish coast to the artificial island Peberholm in the middle of the strait. The crossing is completed by the 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) Drogden Tunnel from Peberholm to the Danish island of Amager. The bridge connects the road and rail networks of the Scandinavian Peninsula with those of Central and Western Europe. A data cable also makes the bridge the backbone of Internet data transmission between central Europe and Sweden. The international European route E20 crosses via road, the Øresund Line via railway. The construction of the Great Belt Fixed Link (1988–1998), connecting Zealand to Funen and thence to the Jutland Peninsula, and the Øresund Bridge have connected Central and Western Europe to Sweden by road and rail. The bridge was designed by Jørgen Nissen and Klaus Falbe Hansen from Ove Arup and Partners, and Niels Gimsing and Georg Rotne. The justification for the additional expenditure and complexity related to digging a tunnel for part of the way, rather than raising that section of the bridge, was to avoid interfering with air traffic from the nearby Copenhagen Airport, to provide a clear channel for ships in good weather or bad, and to prevent ice floes from blocking the strait. Construction began in 1995, with the bridge opening to traffic on 1 July 2000. The bridge received the 2002 IABSE Outstanding Structure Award. Øresund Bridge History Ideas for a fixed link across the Øresund were advanced as early as the first decade of the 20th century. In 1910, proposals were put to the Swedish Parliament for a railway tunnel across the strait, which would have comprised two tunnelled sections linked by a surface road across the island of Saltholm. The concept of a bridge over the Øresund was first formally proposed in 1936 by a consortium of engineering firms who proposed a national motorway network for Denmark. The idea was dropped during World War II, but picked up again thereafter and studied in significant detail in various Danish-Swedish government commissions through the 1950s and 1960s. However, disagreement existed regarding the placement and exact form of the link, with some arguing for a link at the narrowest point of the sound at Helsingør–Helsingborg, further north of Copenhagen, and some arguing for a more direct link from Copenhagen to Malmö. Additionally, some regional and local interests argued that other bridge and road projects, notably the then-unbuilt Great Belt Fixed Link, should take priority. The governments of Denmark and Sweden eventually signed an agreement to build a fixed link in 1973. It would have comprised a bridge between Malmö and Saltholm, with a tunnel linking Saltholm to Copenhagen, and would have been accompanied by a second rail tunnel across the Øresund between Helsingør and Helsingborg. However, that project was cancelled in 1978 due to the economic situation, and growing environmental concerns. As the economic situation improved in the 1980s, interest resumed and the governments signed a new agreement in 1991. An OMEGA centre report identified the following as primary motivations for construction of the bridge:
Despite two schedule setbacks – the discovery of 16 unexploded World War II bombs on the seafloor and an inadvertently skewed tunnel segment – the bridge-tunnel was finished three months ahead of schedule. Although traffic between Denmark and Sweden increased by 61 percent in the first year after the bridge opened, traffic levels were not as high as expected, perhaps due to high tolls. However, since 2005, traffic levels have increased rapidly. This may be due to Danes buying homes in Sweden to take advantage of lower housing prices in Malmö and commuting to work in Denmark. In 2012, to cross by car cost DKK 310, SEK 375 or €43, with discounts of up to 75% available to regular users. In 2007, almost 25 million people travelled over the Øresund Bridge: 15.2 million by car and bus and 9.6 million by train. By 2009, the figure had risen to 35.6 million by car, coach or train. Øresund Bridge (Öresund Bridge) Overview Øresund Bridge Carries: Four lanes of European route E20 Double-track Øresund Line Øresund Bridge Crosses: Øresund strait (the Sound) Øresund Bridge Locale: Copenhagen, Denmark, and Malmö, Sweden Øresund Bridge Official Name: Øresundsbron (used by company), Øresundsbroen (Danish), Öresundsbron (Swedish) Øresund Bridge Design: Cable-stayed bridge Øresund Bridge Total Length: 7,845 metres (25,738 ft) Øresund Bridge Width: 23.5 metres (77.1 ft) Øresund Bridge Height: 204 metres (669 ft) Øresund Bridge Longest Span: 490 metres (1,608 ft) Øresund Bridge Clearance Below: 57 metres (187 ft) Øresund Bridge Designer: Jørgen Nissen, Klaus Falbe Hansen, Niels Gimsing and Georg Rotne Øresund Bridge Engineering Design By: Ove Arup & Partners Setec ISC Gimsing & Madsen Øresund Bridge Constructed By: Hochtief, Skanska, Højgaard & Schultz and Monberg & Thorsen Øresund Bridge Construction Start: 1995 Øresund Bridge Construction End: 1999 Øresund Bridge Construction Cost: 19.6 billion DKK 25.8 billion SEK 2.6 billion EUR Øresund Bridge Opened: 1 July 2000 Øresund Bridge Daily Traffic: Increase c. 18,434 road vehicles (2022) Øresund Bridge Toll: Until 31 December 2023: DKK 440, SEK 650 or EUR 59 From 1 January 2024: DKK 455, SEK 673 or EUR 61 Øresund Bridge Coordinates: 55°34′31″N 12°49′37″E | |||||
| |||||
