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Øresund Bridge

Coordinates:55°34′N12°51′E/ 55.57°N 12.85°E/55.57; 12.85
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Øresund Bridge
Öresund Bridge
September 2015 view from an aeroplane
Coordinates55°34′31″N12°49′37″E/ 55.57528°N 12.82694°E/55.57528; 12.82694
CarriesFour lanes ofEuropean route E20
Double-trackØresund Line
CrossesØresundstrait (the Sound)
LocaleCopenhagen,Denmark, andMalmö,Sweden
Official nameØresundsbron (used by company), Øresundsbroen (Danish), Öresundsbron (Swedish)
Characteristics
DesignCable-stayed bridge
Total length7,845 metres (25,738 ft)
Width23.5 metres (77.1 ft)
Height204 metres (669 ft)
Longest span490 metres (1,608 ft)
Clearance below57 metres (187 ft)
History
DesignerJørgen Nissen, Klaus Falbe Hansen, Niels Gimsing and Georg Rotne
Engineering design byOve Arup & Partners
Setec
ISC
Gimsing & Madsen
Constructed byHochtief,Skanska,Højgaard & SchultzandMonberg & Thorsen
Construction start1995
Construction end1999
Construction cost19.6 billionDKK
25.8 billionSEK
2.6 billionEUR
Opened1 July 2000
Statistics
Daily trafficIncreasec. 18,434 road vehicles (2022)[1]
TollUntil 31 December 2023: DKK 440, SEK 650 or EUR 59
From 1 January 2024: DKK 455, SEK 673 or EUR 61[2]
Location
Map
References
[3][4][5]

TheØresundorÖresund Bridge[6]is a combinedrailway and motorwaycable-stayed bridgeacross theØresundstrait betweenDenmarkandSweden.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 islandPeberholmin the middle of the strait. The crossing is completed by the 4-kilometre (2.5 mi)Drogden Tunnelfrom Peberholm to the Danish island ofAmager.

The bridge connects the road and rail networks of theScandinavian Peninsulawith those ofCentralandWestern Europe.A data cable also makes the bridge the backbone of Internet data transmission between central Europe and Sweden.[7]The internationalEuropean route E20crosses via road, theØresund Linevia railway. The construction of theGreat Belt Fixed Link(1988–1998), connectingZealandtoFunenand thence to theJutland 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.[8]

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 nearbyCopenhagen Airport,to provide a clear channel for ships in good weather or bad, and to preventice floesfrom blocking the strait. Construction began in 1995, with the bridge opening to traffic on 1 July 2000. The bridge received the 2002IABSEOutstanding Structure Award.

History

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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 theSwedish Parliamentfor a railway tunnel across the strait, which would have comprised two tunnelled sections linked by a surface road across the island ofSaltholm.[9]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.[10][11]

The idea was dropped duringWorld War II,but picked up again thereafter and studied in significant detail in various Danish-Swedish government commissions through the 1950s and 1960s.[10]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 atHelsingør–Helsingborg,further north of Copenhagen, and some arguing for a more direct link from Copenhagen toMalmö.Additionally, some regional and local interests argued that other bridge and road projects, notably the then-unbuiltGreat Belt Fixed Link,should take priority.[10]The governments of Denmark and Sweden eventually signed an agreement to build a fixed link in 1973.[12]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 betweenHelsingørandHelsingborg.[13]

However, that project was cancelled in 1978 due to the economic situation,[14]and growing environmental concerns.[15]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:[15]

  • to improve transport links in northern Europe, from Hamburg to Oslo;[15]
  • regional development around the Øresund as an answer to the intensifying globalisation process and Sweden's decision to apply for membership of the European Community;[15]
  • connecting the two largest cities of the region, which were both experiencing economic difficulties;[15]
  • improving communications toKastrup airport,the main flight transport hub in the region.[15]

A joint venture ofHochtief,Skanska,Højgaard & SchultzandMonberg & Thorsen(the same of the previous Great Belt Fixed Link), began construction of the bridge in 1995 and completed it 14 August 1999.[16]Crown Prince Frederikof Denmark andCrown Princess Victoriaof Sweden met midway across the bridge-tunnel on 14 August 1999 to celebrate its completion.[17]The official dedication took place on 1 July 2000, withQueen Margrethe IIof Denmark andKing Carl XVI Gustafof Sweden as the hostess and host of the ceremony.[18]Because of the death of nine people, including three Danes and three Swedes,at the Roskilde Festivalthe evening before, the ceremony opened with aminute of silence.[19]The bridge-tunnel opened for public traffic later that day. On 12 June 2000, two weeks before the dedication, 79,871 runners competed inBroloppet,ahalf marathonfromAmager,Denmark, toSkåne,Sweden.[20]

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.[21]However, since 2005, traffic levels have increased rapidly. This may be due toDanesbuying homes in Sweden to take advantage of lower housing prices in Malmö and commuting to work in Denmark. In 2012, to cross by car costDKK310,SEK375 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.[22][23]

Øresund Bridge, Øresund
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Bridge

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Aerial photo of Øresund Bridge. In the foreground isCopenhagen Airporton the island ofAmager,to the left of the bridge is the Danish island ofSaltholm,and in the background, the bridge connects to Malmö.

At 7.85 km (4.88 mi), the bridge covers half the distance between Sweden and the Danish island of Amager, the border between the two countries being 5.3 km (3.3 mi) from the Swedish end. The structure has a mass of 82,000 tonnes and supports two railway tracks beneath four road lanes in a horizontalgirderextending along the entire length of the bridge. On both approaches to the threecable-stayed bridgesections, 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, but most ships' captains prefer to pass through the unobstructed Drogden Strait above the Drogden Tunnel. The cable-stayed main span is 491 m (1,611 ft) long. A girder and cable-stayed design was chosen to provide the specific rigidity necessary to carry heavy rail traffic, and also to resist large accumulations of ice.[citation needed] The bridge experiences occasional brief closures during very severe weather, such as theSt. Jude stormof October 2013.[24]

Due to high longitudinal and transverse loads acting over the bridge and to accommodate movements between the superstructure and substructure, it hasbearingsweighing up to 20 t (44,000 lb) each, capable of bearing vertical loads up to 96,000 kN (22,000,000 lbf) in a longitudinal direction and up to 40,000 kN (9,000,000 lbf) in transverse direction. The design, manufacturing and installation of the bearings were carried out by the Swiss civil engineering firm Mageba.[25]

Vibration issues, caused by several cables in the bridge moving under certain wind and temperature conditions, were combatted with the installation of compression spring dampers installed in pairs at the centre of the cables. Two of these dampers were equipped with laser gauges for ongoing monitoring. Testing, development and installation of these spring dampers was carried out by specialists European Springs.[26]

Peberholm

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Main article:Peberholm

The bridge joins Drogden tunnel on theartificial islandofPeberholm(Pepper Islet). The Danes chose the name to complement the natural island ofSaltholm(Salt Islet) just to the north. Peberholm is a designated nature reserve built from Swedish rock and the soil dredged up during the bridge and tunnel construction, approximately 4 km (2.5 mi) long with an average width of 500 m (1,640 ft). It is 20 m (66 ft) high.

Drogden Tunnel

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Cross-section of the Drogden Tunnel

The connection between Peberholm and the artificial peninsula atKastrupon Amager island, the nearest populated part of Denmark, is through the 4.05-kilometre (2.52 mi) long Drogden Tunnel (Drogdentunnelen). It comprises a 3.51-kilometre (2.18 mi)immersed tubeplus 270-metre (886 ft) entry tunnels at each end. The tube tunnel is made from 20 prefabricated reinforced concrete segments – the largest in the world at 55,000tonneseach – interconnected in a trench dug in the seabed. Two tubes in the tunnel carry railway tracks, two carry roads and a small fifth tube is provided for emergencies. The tubes are arranged side by side.

Rail transport

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Satellite image of the Øresund Bridge
The bridge's full stretch betweenPeberholmandMalmö
View fromKlagshamn
Main article:Øresund Line

The rail link is operated jointly by theSwedish Transport Administration(Trafikverket) and the Danish railway infrastructure managerBanedanmark.Passenger train service is commissioned bySkånetrafikenand theDanish Civil Aviation and Railway Authority(Trafikstyrelsen) under theØresundstågbrand, withTransdevandDSBbeing the current operators.[27]A series of new dual-voltage trains was developed, linking the Copenhagen area with Malmö and southern Sweden as far asGothenburgandKalmar.SJoperatesX2000trains over the bridge, with connections to Gothenburg andStockholm.Copenhagen AirportatKastruphas its own railway station close to the western bridgehead. Since December 2022, trains operate typically every 15 minutes during the day, reducing to once an hour during the night in both directions. Additional Øresundstrains are operated at rush hour. Freight trains also use the crossing.

The rail section isdouble track1,435 mm(4 ft8+1⁄2in)standard gaugeand capable ofspeedsof up to 200 kilometres per hour (120 mph), but slower in Denmark, especially in the tunnel section. There were challenges related to the difference inelectrificationandsignallingbetween theDanishandSwedish railway networks.The solution chosen is to switch the electrical system from Swedish15 kV, 16.7 Hzto Danish25 kV, 50 Hzbefore the eastern bridgehead at Lernacken in Sweden. The line is signalled according to the standard Swedish system across the length of the bridge. On Peberholm the line switches to Danish signalling, which continues into the tunnel. There is no way of changing between a locomotive for Danish standard and one for Swedish standard. All rail vehicles using the bridge must be custom made for the standards of both countries.

Trains run on the left in Sweden, and on the right in Denmark. Initially the switch was made atMalmö Central Station,a terminus at that time. After the 2010 inauguration of theMalmö City Tunnelconnection, a tunnel was built atBurlöv,north of Malmö, where the two southbound tracks cross over the northbound pair. The railway in Malmö thus uses the Danish standard.

Border checks

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With both Sweden and Denmark being part of theNordic Passport Unionsince the 1950s, border controls between the two countries have been abolished for decades and travellers can normally move freely across the Øresund Bridge. In 2001, both countries also joined theSchengen area,and since then the abolition of border controls is primarily regulated byEuropean Union law,more specifically theSchengen acquis.

However, in November 2015, during theEuropean migrant crisis,Sweden introduced temporary border controls at the border to Denmark in accordance with the provisions of the Schengen acquis on the reintroduction of temporary internal border controls. As such, travellers into Sweden from Denmark (but not travellers into Denmark from Sweden) must show a valid passport or national ID card (citizens ofEU/EEAcountries) or passport and entry visa (if required) for nationals of other non-EU/EEA countries. The move marked a break with 60 years of border control free travel between the Nordic countries.[28]In January 2016, these border measures were extended by a specialcarriers' liability,forcing carriers (such as bus, train and ferry companies) to check the identity of all passengers from Denmark before they boarded a bus, train or ferry to Sweden. These checks were enforced by a fine of SEK 50,000 as punishment for serving those without such identity documents.[29]This led to the enforcement of checks by private security guards at, for instance, the rail station in Kastrup airport in Denmark, an unpopular move with passengers, due to the delays imposed.[30]

In May 2017, Sweden removed the carriers' liability, but the ordinary border controls carried out by the Swedish Police Authority remained on the Swedish side of the Øresund Bridge.[31]In accordance with the Schengen Borders Code, these border controls are only allowed for a period of six months at a time, and therefore have to be renewed twice a year.[32]

Costs and benefits

[edit]
On the bridge
In the tunnel

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.[33]

In 2006, Sweden began work on theMalmö 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 toThe 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.[34]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.[35]

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.[36]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.[37]

Cultural references

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Environmental effects

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The underwater parts of the bridge have become covered in marine organisms and act as anartificial reef.[40][41]

See also

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References

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  1. ^"ØRESUND 2023 REPORT".Øresundsbron.Retrieved22 December2023.
  2. ^"Øresund Bridge Pricing - DKK".Øresundsbron.Retrieved22 December2023.
  3. ^"Statistik & Rapporter".Øresundsbron(in Swedish). 28 May 2024.Archivedfrom the original on 31 May 2024.Retrieved31 May2024.
  4. ^"Öresundsbron, Malmö".skanska.se(in Swedish). 31 May 2024.Archivedfrom the original on 31 May 2024.Retrieved31 May2024.
  5. ^"Öresundsbron har fortfarande en outnyttjad potential".Nordiskt samarbete(in Swedish). 5 July 2021.Retrieved31 May2024.
  6. ^(Danish:Øresundsbroen[ˈøːɐsɔnsˌpʁoˀn̩];Swedish:Öresundsbron[œrɛˈsɵ̂nːdsˌbruːn];hybrid name:Øresundsbron)
  7. ^"New Baltic data cable plan unfolding".Yle yhtiönä.11 December 2013.Archivedfrom the original on 14 December 2013.Retrieved12 December2013.According to current plans, the undersea optic fibre cable would run directly from Germany to Finland. Haavisto said that the project could make Finland a significant international data hub. So far, all data transmission to Finland has taken place via the Øresund Bridge, that is through Denmark and Sweden.
  8. ^Jørgen Nissen; Georg Rotne (1999)."Getting the balance right. The Øresund Bridge - Design concept".Getting the balance right. The Øresund Bridge - Design.pp. 417–426.doi:10.5169/seals-62105.{{cite book}}:|website=ignored (help)
  9. ^"A Submarine Military Tunnel".Scientific American,6 August 1910, p. 104
  10. ^abcBoge, Knut (2006).Votes Count but the Number of Seats Decides: A comparative historical case study of 20th century Danish, Swedish and Norwegian road policy(Ph.D.). DBI Norwegian School of Management.Retrieved11 January2016.
  11. ^Marstrand, Wilhelm (14 March 1936)."Det Store Vej - og broprojekt Motorveje med broer over storebælt og Øresund"[The Great Road and Bridge Project Motorway with Bridge over the Great Belt and Øresund].Ingeniøren(in Danish): 67–70.Archivedfrom the original on 23 September 2015.Retrieved20 November2015.
  12. ^OECD (2003).OECD Territorial Reviews OECD Territorial Reviews: Oresund, Denmark/Sweden 2003.OECD Publishing. p. 77.ISBN978-9264100800.Archivedfrom the original on 19 November 2015.Retrieved18 November2015.
  13. ^Defense Transportation Journal,Vol. 29, No. 6 (November/December, 1973), p. 7
  14. ^Krokeborg, J, ed. (1 January 2001).Strait crossings 2001: proceedings of the Fourth Symposium on Strait Crossings, Bergen, Norway, 2 - 5 September 2001.Lisse: CRC Press.ISBN978-9026518454.Archivedfrom the original on 19 November 2015.Retrieved18 November2015.
  15. ^abcdefCentre for Mega Projects in Transport and Development (2014)."Project Profile: Sweden, The Oresund Link"(PDF).OMEGA Case Studies.Archived(PDF)from the original on 31 January 2016.Retrieved16 January2016.
  16. ^"HOCHTIEF Infrastructure Scandinavia".HOCHTIEF.Archivedfrom the original on 21 November 2015.Retrieved20 November2015.
  17. ^"Danmark og Sverige landfast"[Denmark and Sweden by Land] (in Danish).DR.Retrieved20 November2015.
  18. ^"Øresundsbroen indviet"[Oresund Bridge inaugurated].B.T.(in Danish).Ritzau.1 July 2000.Archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2015.Retrieved20 November2015.
  19. ^"Broåbning i tragediens skygge".Berlingske(in Danish). Ritzau. 1 July 2000.Archivedfrom the original on 23 September 2015.Retrieved20 November2015.
  20. ^"90.000 løbere over Øresundsbroen"[90,000 runners cross the Øresunds Bridge].B.T.(in Danish). Ritzau. 12 June 2000.Archivedfrom the original on 22 March 2012.Retrieved26 March2011.
  21. ^Baunkjær, Claus F. (28 March 2013)."Cautious traffic assumptions for the Fehmarnbelt project".Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link.Archived fromthe originalon 2 July 2015.Retrieved20 November2015.
  22. ^"Øresundsbrons bokslut för 2008: Bättre resultat trots den ekonomiska avmattningen"[Øresundsbrons financial statements for 2008: better results despite the economic slowdown] (in Swedish). Uk.oresundsbron.com. Archived fromthe originalon 13 March 2013.Retrieved24 March2013.
  23. ^"Traffic numbers".Archived fromthe originalon 19 October 2013.,"Øresundsbron traffic figures all years".Archived fromthe originalon 2 January 2014.Retrieved6 October2013.
  24. ^"Stormen lukker Øresundsbroen"[Storm closes the Øresund Bridge].JydskeVestkysten(in Danish). 28 October 2013.Archivedfrom the original on 21 November 2015.Retrieved20 November2015.
  25. ^"Øresund Bridge".Mageba.Archivedfrom the original on 23 December 2016.Retrieved22 December2016.
  26. ^"The Öresund bridge".European Springs and Pressings.Archived fromthe originalon 21 November 2015.Retrieved20 November2015.
  27. ^"About Us".www.oresundstag.se.14 October 2021.
  28. ^Kirk, Lisbeth (5 January 2016)."Domino effect: Denmark follows Sweden on EU border checks".EUObserver.Archivedfrom the original on 25 January 2016.Retrieved7 January2016.
  29. ^"Migrant crisis: Sweden border checks come into force".BBC News.4 January 2016.Archivedfrom the original on 4 January 2016.Retrieved4 January2016.
  30. ^"Sweden border checks to extend into Denmark".thelocal.se.7 December 2015.
  31. ^Radio, Sveriges (2 May 2017)."Sweden ends ID checks for travellers from Denmark - Radio Sweden".Sveriges Radio.
  32. ^"Temporary Reintroduction of Border Control".Migration and Home Affairs - European Commission.6 December 2016.
  33. ^OECD (2003).OECD Territorial Reviews OECD Territorial Reviews: Oresund, Denmark/Sweden 2003 OECD Territorial Reviews Series.OECD Publishing. p. 38.ISBN978-92-64-10080-0.
  34. ^Ekonomiska vinster av Øresundsförbindelsen(PDF)(in Swedish). Öresund Institute. November 2014.Archived(PDF)from the original on 24 September 2015.Retrieved20 November2015.
  35. ^Hamberg, Thomas (31 August 2014)."Öresundsbron ger mångmiljardvinster"[Oresund Bridge provides multi-billion profits].Dagens Nyheter.Stockholm.Archivedfrom the original on 24 September 2015.Retrieved20 November2015.
  36. ^Ejermo, Olof; Hussinger, Katrin; Kalash, Basheer; Schubert, Torben (2021)."Innovation in Malmö after the Öresund Bridge".Journal of Regional Science.62:5–20.doi:10.1111/jors.12543.ISSN1467-9787.
  37. ^Bütikofer, Aline; Løken, Katrine V.; Willén, Alexander (3 November 2022)."Building Bridges and Widening Gaps".The Review of Economics and Statistics.106(3): 681–697.doi:10.1162/rest_a_01183.ISSN0034-6535.S2CID228161315.
  38. ^"Mord på Öresundsbron i ny tv-serie".SvD.se(in Swedish). 16 September 2011.Archivedfrom the original on 31 May 2024.Retrieved31 May2024.
  39. ^"The Quietus | Features | A Quietus Interview | Bleeding Edge: Nicky Wire on Futures, Futurism and Futurology".The Quietus.
  40. ^"Trots farhågorna – här frodas undervattenslivet vid vindkraftverken i Öresund".SVT Nyheter(in Swedish). 21 May 2023.Retrieved31 May2024.När Öresundsbron skulle byggas oroades många över att bropelarna skulle störa det marina livet. Så blev det inte – tvärtom. Nu ser dykarna samma utveckling när det gäller den havsbaserade vindkraften. Vi har sett massor av liv och kan likställa det med ett konstgjort rev, säger Erik Skog, ordförande i föreningen.
  41. ^"Öresundsbron, Malmö".Skanska(in Swedish). 31 May 2024.Archivedfrom the original on 31 May 2024.Retrieved31 May2024.Men Öresundsbron har visat sig vara bra för miljön. Bropelarna suger åt sig organismer som annars hade haft svårt att hitta någon annanstans att leva. På bropelarna lever exempelvis upp till 140 000 musslor per kvadratmeter. Musslor som i sin tur blir föda åt exempelvis torsken.
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Preceded by Europe's longest railway bridge
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55°34′N12°51′E/ 55.57°N 12.85°E/55.57; 12.85

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