Øresund bridge-tunnel

Recently, Danish Copenhagen and Swedish Malmö are connected by a unique road-rail bridge-tunnel.

(Total 14 photos)

Source: lifeglobe

1. The construction of the Øresund bridge-tunnel began in 1995 and was completed on August 14, 1999. Despite the fact that a couple of important incidents prevented the construction - the discovery of 18 unexploded shells from the Second World War at the bottom of the sea and the distortion of one of the segments of the tunnel - the bridge was completed 3 months earlier than planned

2. The completion of construction was marked by a symbolic meeting between the Danish Prince Frederik and the Swedish Crown Princess Victoria in the middle of the bridge. The official opening took place on July 1, 2000, already with the participation of the monarchs themselves - Queen Margrethe II, and King Carl XVI Gustaf

3. The appearance of the project itself of such an unusual structure was facilitated by the fact that Denmark and Sweden are part of the Schengen zone and passport control was canceled between them and customs control was simplified

4. Initially, the bridge was very expensive to cross - in an attempt to recoup its unprecedented cost, the government charged too high a price - so it was used by a few, but subsequently, in 2005-2006, traffic increased significantly. Analysts attribute this to the fact that many Danes bought houses in Malmö, Sweden, which were inexpensive by the standards of Danish salaries, and traveled to work in Denmark along the Øresund bridge. In this regard, discounts of up to 75% of the fare were introduced for people who regularly cross it.

5. In 2008, a road trip across the bridge cost 36.3 euros (260 Danish or 325 SEK). In 2007, almost 25 million people crossed the bridge, of which more than 15 million on their own vehicles and almost 10 million on trains

6. Øresund Bridge includes a double-track railway and a four-lane highway. Its total length is 7845 meters, every 140 of which the bearing beam of the bridge rests on concrete pillars. The main span has a height of 57 meters, which allows most ships to safely pass under it, although many prefer a calm passage over the tunnel itself, with which the bridge connects on an artificial island, nicknamed Peberholm (Pepper Island) for its shape

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8. By inertia, the Danes, with their inherent sense of humor, decided to give a new name to the natural island located just to the north, which is now called none other than Saltholm (Island-Salt). Peberholm Island is 4 kilometers long and 500 meters wide on average. The building material for it was rock fragments and tons of rock raised from the bottom during dredging during the construction of the bridge.

9. The island of Peberholm is connected with the Danish artificial peninsula Kastrup on the island of Amager by the 4-kilometer Drogden tunnel. More precisely, its length is 4050 meters, which includes 270 meters of portals at both exits and 3510 meters of flat underwater part.

10. During the construction of the tunnel to the bottom of the strait, 20 reinforced concrete segments of 55 thousand tons each were lowered into a specially dug channel, which were then combined into one. In total, 5 pipes run through the Drogden tunnel - two each for rail and road traffic, and a fifth, smaller pipe for emergencies

11. Why was such a strange half-bridge-half-tunnel built across the strait? Why did the government of the two countries go to the additional expense and complexity associated with the construction of the tunnel? The reason lies in the proximity of Copenhagen Airport (a conventional bridge would prevent aircraft from taking off and landing), plus this design made it possible not to restrict shipping traffic through Øresund

12. In total, more than 30 billion Danish kroner (based on the exchange rate of the Danish krone in 2000) was spent on the construction of the Øresund bridge-tunnel - an amount that will pay off only by 2035. In addition, in order to expand the railway interchange coming from the bridge, in 2006 the Swedish side spent another 9.45 billion SEK on the city tunnel in Malmö, the construction of which was completed in 2011

13. In 2010, a car ride on the bridge cost €39, a motorcycle ride €21, and a train ride €9. But the fee is gradually growing - today, in order to drive through the Øresund bridge-tunnel by car, you will have to pay 43 euros

14. The small Swedish town of Malmö is known to many thanks to the amazing Turning Torso skyscraper.