The Öresund Bridge : Demo Site
04-Oct-2011 -- The Øresund or Öresund Bridge (Danish: Øresundsbroen, Swedish: Öresundsbron, joint hybrid name: Øresundsbron) is a combined twin-track railway and dual carriageway bridge-tunnel across the Øresund strait.
The international European route E20 crosses this bridge-tunnel via the road, and the Öresund Railway Line uses the railway. The construction of the Great Belt Fixed Link – which connects Zealand to Funen and thence 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 in accordance with the Schengen Agreement and the Nordic Passport Union, there are usually no passport inspections. There are random customs checks at the entrance toll booths for entering Sweden, but not for entering Denmark.
The Øresund Bridge received the 2002 IABSE Outstanding Structure Award.
The construction of the Øresund Bridge began in 1995, and was finished 14 August 1999. Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden met midway across the bridge-tunnel to celebrate its completion on 14 August 1999.[4] Its official dedication took place on 1 July 2000, with Queen Margrethe II, and King Carl XVI Gustaf as the host and hostess of the ceremony.[5] 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 (Swedish: Broloppet, Danish: Broløbet; the Bridge Run) from Amager, Denmark, to Skåne, Sweden.[6]
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.
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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 295, SEK 325, or € 36.30, although discounts up to 75% are available for 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 a total of 35.6 million travellers by car, coach or train. edit
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04-Oct-2011 -- Article was edited by cougar (136) on October 4th, 2011
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