Øresund Bridge

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Øresund Bridge
Öresund Bridge

Official name Øresundsbroen, Öresundsbron

Four lanes of European route E20
Carries
Double track Oresund Railway Line
Crosses Oresund strait (The Sound)
Locale Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmö, Sweden
Designer Georg Rotne
Design Cable-stayed bridge
Total length 7,845 metres (25,738 ft)
Width 23.5 metres (77.1 ft)
Longest span 490 metres (1,608 ft)
Clearance
57 metres (187 ft)
below
Opened July 2, 2000
Toll 285DKK[1] /375SEK[2] /39EUR[3]
Daily traffic ca. 17,000 road vehicles
55°34′31″N 12°49′37″E / 55.57528°N
Coordinates
12.82694°E

The Øresund or Öresund Bridge (Danish: Øresundsbroen, Swedish: Öresundsbron,

joint hybrid name: Øresundsbron) is a combined twin-track railroad and four-lane
highway bridge-tunnel across the Öresund strait. The Øresund Bridge connects
Sweden and Denmark, and it is the longest highway and railroad bridge in Europe.
The Øresund Bridge also connects two major Metropolitan Areas: those of the Danish
capital city of Copenhagen and the major Swedish city of Malmö. Furthermore, the
Øresund Bridge connects the highway network of Scandinavia with those of Central
and Western Europe

The international European route E20 crosses this bridge-tunnel via the roadway, and
the Öresund Railway Line uses the railroads. The construction of the Great Belt Fixed
Link – which connects Zealand to Funen and whence to the Jutland Peninsula – and
the Øresund Bridge have connected Western and Central Europe to Scandinavia. The
Øresund Bridge was designed by the Danish architectural practice Dissing+Weitling.

The purpose for the additional expenditure and complexity related to digging a tunnel
for part of the way – rather than simply raising that section of the bridge – was to
avoid interfering with airliners from the nearby Copenhagen International Airport,
and also to provide a clear channel for ships in good weather or bad, and to prevent
ice floes from blocking the strait. The Øresund Bridge crosses the border between
Denmark and Sweden, but according to the Schengen Agreement and the Nordic
Passport Union, there are usually no passport inspections. There are customs checks at
the entrance toll booths for entering Sweden, but not for entering Denmark.

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Name
• 2 History
• 3 Link features
o 3.1 The bridge
o 3.2 Peberholm
o 3.3 Drogden Tunnel
• 4 Rail transport
• 5 Costs
• 6 Toll charge
• 7 See also
• 8 References

• 9 External links

[edit] Name
In Sweden and Denmark the bridge is most often referred to as Öresundsbron and
Øresundsbroen, respectively. The bridge company itself insists on Øresundsbron, a
compromise between the two languages. This symbolises a common cultural identity
for the region, with some of the people considering themselves "Öresund citizens"
once the Øresund Bridge was completed. Since the crossing is actually composed of a
bridge, one artificial island, and a tunnel, it is sometimes called the "Öresund Link" or
the "Öresund Connection" (Danish: Øresundsforbindelsen, Swedish:
Öresundsförbindelsen).

The phrase The Sound Bridge is occasionally heard, using the historic English name
for the strait.

[edit] History
The construction of the Øresund Bridge began in 1995. It was finished about August
14, 1999. Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden
met midway across the bridge-tunnel to celebrate its completion. Its official
dedication took place on July 1, 2000, with Queen Margrethe II, and King Carl XVI
Gustaf as the host and hostess of the ceremony. The bridge-tunnel was opened for
public traffic later that day. On 12 June 2000, two weeks before the dedication,
79,871 runners competed in a half marathon (Broloppet, the Bridge Run) from
Amager, Denmark, to Skåne, Sweden.

In spite of two schedule setbacks – the discovery of 16 unexploded World War II

bombs lying on the seafloor and an inadvertently skewed tunnel segment – the bridge-
tunnel was finished three months ahead of schedule.

Initially, the crossing was not used as much as expected, probably because of the high
tolls. Since 2005, there has been a rapid increase in traffic. This may have been
caused by Danes buying homes in Sweden – to take advantage of lower housing
prices in Malmö – and commuting to work in Denmark. In 2008, to cross by car cost
DKK 260, SEK 325, or € 36.30, although discounts up to 75% are available for
regular users. In 2007, almost 25 million people traveled over the Øresund Bridge:
15.2 million by car and bus, and 9.6 million by train.

[edit] Link features

[edit] The bridge

Aerial Photo of Oresund Bridge.

At 7,845 m (25,738 ft), the bridge covers half the distance between Sweden and the
Danish island of Amager, the border between the two countries being located 5.3 km
(3.3 mi) from the Swedish end. The structure has a mass of 82,000 tonnes and
supports two railroad tracks beneath four road lanes in a horizontal girder extending
along the entire length of the bridge. On both approaches to the three cable-stayed
bridge sections, the girder is supported every 140 m (459 ft) by concrete piers. The
two pairs of free-standing cable supporting towers are 204 m (669 ft) high allowing
shipping 57 m (187 ft) of head room under the main span. Even so, most ship's
captains prefer to pass through the unobstructed Drogden Strait above the Drogden
Tunnel. Its 491 m (1,611 ft) cable-stayed main span is the longest of this type in the
world. A girder and cable-stayed design was chosen to provide the rigidity necessary
to carry heavy railroad traffic, and also to resist large accumulations of ice..

[edit] Peberholm

Main article: Peberholm

The bridge joins the Drogden tunnel on the artificial island christened Peberholm
(Pepper Islet). With characteristic good humour, the Danes chose the name to
complement the natural island of Saltholm (salt islet) just to the north. They also
made Peberholm a designated nature reserve. Built from Swedish rock and the soil
dredged up during the bridge and tunnel construction, Peberholm is approximately
4 km (2.5 mi) long, with an average width of 500 m (1,640 ft).

[edit] Drogden Tunnel

Cross-section of the Oresund Tunnel

The connection between the artificial island of Peberholm and the artificial peninsula
at Kastrup on Amager island – the nearest populated part of Denmark – is through the
Drogden Tunnel (Drogdentunnelen). The 4,050 m (13,287 ft) long tunnel comprises a
3,510 m (11,516 ft) undersea tube tunnel plus 270 m (886 ft) entry tunnels at each
end. The tube tunnel is made from 20 prefabricated reinforced concrete segments –
the most massive in the world at 55,000 tonnes each – interconnected in a trench dug
in the seabed. Two tubes in the tunnel carry railway tracks; two more carry roads
while a small fifth tube is provided for emergencies. The tubes are arranged side by
side.

[edit] Rail transport

Satellite image of the Oresund Bridge

View from Malmö

Main article: Oresund Railway

The public transport rail system is operated jointly by the Swedish SJ and the Danish
via DSBFirst on a commission by Skånetrafiken and other county traffic companies
(that also sell tickets) and the Danish transport agency. A series of new dual-voltage
trains were developed which link the Copenhagen area with Malmö and southern
Sweden as far as Gothenburg and Kalmar on selected schedules. SJ operate the
X2000 and InterCity trains over the bridge with connections to Gothenburg and
Stockholm. DSB operate trains to Ystad that connect directly to a ferry to Bornholm.
Copenhagen Airport at Kastrup is served by its own train station close to the western
bridgehead. Trains operate every 20 minutes over the crossing and once an hour
during the night in both directions. An additional couple of Øresundstrains are
operated at rush hour, and 1-2 per hour and direction SJ trains and DSB trains every
other hour. Freight trains also use the crossing.

The rail connection has become popular and is now experiencing congestion. The
congestion is mainly on land and not really on the bridge. The railway stations on
both sides of the bridge, especially the Malmö Central Station, are the main sources of
congestion. People have to stand onboard during rush hour since it is hard to run more
trains. The new Malmö City Tunnel and its stations will relieve the congestion on the
Swedish side.

The rail section is double track standard gauge (1435 mm; 4 ft 81⁄2 in) and capable of
high-speeds up to 200 kilometres per hour (120 mph), but slower in Denmark,
especially in the tunnel section. There were challenges related to the difference in
electrification and signaling between the Danish and Swedish railway networks. The
solution chosen is to switch the electrical system, from Swedish 15 kV, 16.7 Hz to
Danish 25 kV, 50 Hz AC right before the eastern bridgehead at Lernacken in Sweden.
The line is signaled according to the standard Swedish system across the length of the
bridge. On Peberholm, the line switches to Danish signaling which continues into the
tunnel. Sweden runs railways with left-hand traffic and Denmark with right-hand
traffic. The switch is made at the Malmö Central Station, which is also a terminus. For
the new Malmö City Tunnel connection a flyover will pass one track over to the other
side.

[edit] Costs
On the bridge

In the tunnel

The cost for the entire Øresund Connection construction, including motorway and
railway connections on land, was calculated at DKK 30.1 billion according to the
2000 year price index, with the cost of the bridge paid back by 2035. In 2006 Sweden
began spending a further SEK 9.45 billion on the Malmö City Tunnel as a new rail
connection to the bridge; it is due for completion in 2010.

The connection will be entirely user financed. The owner company is owned half by
the Danish government and half by the Swedish government. This owner company
has taken loans guaranteed by the governments to finance the connection, and the user
fees are the only incomes for the company. After the increase in traffic these fees are
enough to pay the interest and begin paying back the loans, which is expected to take
about 30 years.

The tax payers have not paid for the bridge and the tunnel. However, tax money has
been used for the land connections. Especially on the Danish side the land connection
has domestic benefit, mainly connecting 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.

[edit] Toll charge

In April 2009, the toll for driving the fixed link was as follows (one way trip without
discount) in Danish kroner (DKK), Swedish kronor (SEK) and euro (EUR):

Vehicle DKK[1] SEK[2] EUR[3]

Motorcycle 150 215 21
Standard car 275 380 39
Motorhome/car+caravan 550 790 75
Minibus (6-9 metres) 550 790 75
Bus (longer than 9 metres) 1145 1675 157
Lorry/truck (9-20 metres) 795 1170 109
Lorry/truck (over 20 metres) 1190 1755 163
Train ticket[4] 78 110 9

There has been criticism of the tolls which are much higher than what many consider
reasonable for a bridge. However they are comparable with the ferry charges that
were levied before the bridge was built and for the ferries still running between
Helsingborg and Helsingør.

[edit] See also

• Oresund Region
• Great Belt Fixed Link
• List of bridge-tunnels

[edit] References
Notes

1. ^ a b [1] - kontantpriser (Danish)

2. ^ a b [2] - kontantpriser (Swedish)
3. ^ a b [3] - cash prices (English)
4. ^ "Startsida - Öresundståg". Oresundstag.se. http://www.oresundstag.se.
Retrieved 2009-05-06.

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Øresund bridge

• Official website
• Øresund Bridge at Structurae
• Øresund Tunnel at Structurae
• Live traffic flow on the bridge (java).
• Øresund bridge project information from Road Traffic Technology
• Video celebrating 10 years of the Bridge
• Impossible Bridges: The Øresund Bridge (National Geographic television
channel documentary, 2006)

Coordinates: 55°34′N 12°51′E / 55.57°N 12.85°E

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%98resund_Bridge"

Categories: Bridges in Denmark | Bridges in Sweden | International bridges | Road-
rail bridges | Cable-stayed bridges | Bridge-tunnels | Bridges completed in 2000 |
Transport in Copenhagen | Buildings and structures in Copenhagen | Malmö | Scania |
Toll bridges | Toll tunnels | Viaducts | Connections across the Baltic Sea | Undersea
tunnels | Denmark–Sweden border crossings
Hidden categories: Articles containing Danish language text | Articles containing
Swedish language text
Oresund Bridge
Oresund Bridge
Øresundsbroen, Öresundsbron

4 lanes of European route E20

Carries
Double track Oresund Railway Line
Crosses Oresund strait (The Sound)
Copenhagen, Denmark and Malmö,
Locale
Sweden
Design Cable-stayed bridge
Longest span 490 metres (1,608 ft)
Total length 7,845 metres (25,738 ft)
Width 23.5 metres (77.1 ft)
Clearance
57 metres (187 ft)
below
AADT ca. 17,000 road vehicles
Opening date July 2, 2000
Toll 260DKK[1] /325SEK[2] /36EUR[3]
Coordinates 55°34′31″N, 12°49′37″E

The Oresund Bridge (Danish Øresundsbroen, Swedish Öresundsbron, joint hybrid

name Øresundsbron) is a combined two-track rail and four-lane road bridge across the
Oresund strait. The bridge-tunnel is the longest combined road and rail bridge in
Europe and connects the two metropolitan areas of the Oresund Region: the Danish
capital of Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmö. The international European
route E20 runs across the bridge and through the tunnel via the two lane motorway, as
does the Oresund Railway Line. The bridge is the longest border crossing bridge in
the world.

Contents
• 1 Name
• 2 History
• 3 Features
• 4 Peberholm, artifical island
• 5 The Drogden Tunnel
• 6 Rail transport
• 7 Costs
 • 8 Toll charge
• 9 References
• 10 See also

• 11 External links

Name
In Sweden and Denmark the bridge is most often referred to as Öresundsbron or
Øresundsbroen, respectively. The bridge company itself insists on Øresundsbron, a
compromise between the two languages which would symbolise a common cultural
identity of the region, the people becoming 'Oresund citizens' once the bridge was
established. Since it is actually a bridge and a tunnel, it is sometimes more technically
correctly named the Oresund Link or Oresund Connection (Danish:
Øresundsforbindelsen, Swedish: Öresundsförbindelsen). The Sound Bridge is
occasionally heard, using the traditional English name of the strait.

History
Construction began in 1995. The last section was constructed on August 14, 1999.
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden met
midway to celebrate its completion. The official inauguration took place on July 1,
2000, with Queen Margrethe II, and King Carl XVI Gustaf, presiding. The bridge was
opened for traffic later that day. Before the inauguration 79,871 runners competed in a
half distance marathon (Broloppet, the Bridge Run) from Amager (in Denmark) to
Skåne (in Sweden) on June 12, 2000.

Initially the usage of the bridge was not as high as expected, which was generally
attributed to the expense of crossing. 2005 and 2006, however, have seen a rapid
increase in the volume of traffic on the bridge. This phenomenon may be due to
Danes buying homes in Sweden and commuting to their work in Denmark, because
the price of housing in Malmö is lower than in Copenhagen. As of 2008 a single car
ride across the bridge costs DKK 260, SEK 325 or EUR 36 (however, discounts of up
to 75% are available for regular users). In 2007 almost 25 million people traveled
over the bridge, 15.2 million in cars and buses and 9.6 million by train.

Features
The bridge has one of the longest cable-stayed main spans in the world at 490 metres
(1,608 ft). The height of the highest pillar is 204 metres (669 ft). The total length of
the bridge is 7,845 metres (25,738 ft), which is approximately half the distance
between the Swedish and Danish landmasses, and its weight is 82,000 metric tons. On
the bridge, the two rail-tracks are beneath the four road lanes. The bridge has a
vertical clearance of 57 metres (187 ft), although most boat traffic across Oresund still
passes over the Drogden strait (where the tunnel lies). The bridge was designed by
Arup.

Peberholm, artifical island

The bridge ends in the middle of Øresund, on an artifically built island, called
Peberholm. The island is more than 4 km long and a few hundred metres wide,
belongs to Denmark and is now an unpopulated natural reserve.

The Drogden Tunnel

The connection between Peberholm and the nearest populated part of Denmark is
through a tunnel, called Drogdentunnelen (the Drogden Tunnel). The tunnel is
4,050 metres (13,287 ft) long, a 3,510 metre long buried undersea tunnel plus two
270-metre gate-tunnels. The reason to build a tunnel here instead of another bridge is
that it is too near the Copenhagen Airport.

Rail transport
The public transport by rail is operated jointly by the Swedish SJ and Skåne
commuter rail and the Danish Danske Statsbaner. A series of new dual-voltage trains
were developed which link the Copenhagen area with Malmö and Southern Sweden
as far as Gothenburg and Kalmar on selected departures. The bridge is also served by
X2000 trains from Stockholm. Copenhagen Airport at Kastrup is served by its own
train station close to the western bridgehead. Across the bridge trains run every 20
minutes, and once an hour during the night.

The rail section is double track standard gauge (1435 mm) and capable of high-speeds
exceeding 200 km/h. There were challenges related to the difference in electrification
and signalling between the Danish and Swedish railway networks. The solution
chosen is to switch electrical system, from Swedish 15 kV, 16,7 Hz to Danish 25 kV,
50 Hz AC right before the eastern bridgehead (at Lernacken in Sweden). The line is
signalled with the standard Swedish system all across the bridge. On Peberholm, the
line switches to Danish signalling which continues into the tunnel. Sweden runs
railways with left-hand traffic and Denmark with right-hand traffic. The switch is
made at the Malmö railway station, which is a terminus station. For the new Malmö
City Tunnel connection a bridge will pass one track to the other side.

Costs
The cost for the entire Øresund connection construction, including motorway and
railway connections on land, was calculated to DKK 30.1 billion according to the
2000 year price index. The cost of the bridge is expected to be paid back by 2035.
Sweden has started spending SEK 9.45 billion more, on the Malmö City Tunnel
(2006-2012) as a new rail connection to the bridge.

Toll charge
As of January 2008, the toll for driving the fixed link is as follows (one way trip):

Vehicle Danish currency[1] Swedish currency[2] Euro[3]

Motorcycle 145 DKK 180 SEK 20 EUR
Standard car 260 DKK 325 SEK 36 EUR
Motorhome/Car+Caravan 520 DKK 650 SEK 71 EUR
Minibus (6-9 meters) 520 DKK 650 SEK 71 EUR
Bus (longer than 9 meters) 1100 DKK 1365 SEK 151 EUR
Lorry/Truck (longer than 9 meters) 775 DKK 960 SEK 106 EUR
On the bridgeIn the tunnelUnder the bridge

References
1. ^ a b Øresundsbron - kontantpriser (Danish)
2. ^ a b Øresundsbron - kontantpriser (Swedish)
3. ^ a b Øresund Bridge - cash prices (English)

See also
• Oresund Region
• Great Belt Fixed Link
• Fehmarn Belt bridge

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:

Øresund bridge

• Oresund Bridge - Official website

• Øresund Bridge in the Structurae database
• Øresund Tunnel in the Structurae database
• Øresund Bridge from Skanska site
• German/English - information+online booking
• Traffic on the Øresundbridge in recent years - Comparison chart.
• Live traffic flow on the bridge (java).
• Oresund bridge on en.broer.no

Coordinates: 55.57° N 12.85° E