Øresund Bridge Costs and Benefits

Øresund Bridge Costs and Benefits

The cost for the Øresund Connection, including motorway and railway connections on land, was DKK 30.1 billion (~€4.0 billion) according to the 2000 year price index, with the cost of the bridge expected in 2003 to be recouped by 2037.

In 2006, Sweden began work on the Malmö City Tunnel, a SEK 9.45 billion connection with the bridge that was completed in December 2010. The connection will be entirely user-financed. The owner company is owned half by the Danish state and half by the Swedish state. This owner company has taken loans guaranteed by the governments to finance the connection and the user fees are its only income. After the increase in traffic, these fees are enough to pay the interest and begin repaying the loans, which is expected to take about 30 years.

Taxpayers have paid for neither the bridge nor the tunnel, but tax money has been used for the land connections. On the Danish side, the land connection has domestic benefits, mainly to connect the airport to the railway network. The Malmö City Tunnel has the benefit of connecting the southern part of the inner city to the rail network and allowing many more trains to and from Malmö.

According to The Öresund Committee, the bridge has made a national economic gain of DKK 57 billion, or SEK 78 billion SEK (~€8.41 billion) on both sides of the strait by increased commuting and lower commuting expense. The gain is estimated to be SEK 6.5 billion per year but this could be increased to 7.7 billion by removing the three biggest obstacles to integration and mobility, the two largest being that non-EU nationals in Sweden are not allowed to work in Denmark and that many professional qualifications and merits are not mutually recognised.

A 2021 study found that the bridge led to an increase in innovation in Malmö. The key mechanism appears to be that high-skilled workers were drawn to Malmö. A 2022 study found that the bridge caused an increase of 13.5% in the average wage of workers in the region, as the bridge expanded the size of the labor market.

Øresund Bridge Cultural References

• The bridge lends its name to the Nordic noir television series The Bridge, which is set in the region around the bridge.
• When Malmö hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2013, the bridge was the inspiration for a similar element in the set design, symbolising the connection between Sweden and the rest of Europe.
• The bridge was the inspiration behind the 2014 song "Walk Me to the Bridge" by Manic Street Preachers from their album Futurology.

Øresund Bridge Environmental Effects

The underwater parts of the bridge have become covered in marine organisms and act as an artificial reef.

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