Øresund Bridge

Øresund Bridge (Danish spelling)
Öresund Bridge (Swedish spelling)
Aerial view looking from the Danish side, September 2015
Coordinates55°34′14″N 12°50′58″E / 55.57056°N 12.84944°E / 55.57056; 12.84944
CarriesFour lanes of European route E20
Double-track Øresund Line
CrossesØresund strait (the Sound)
LocaleCopenhagen, Denmark, and Malmö, Sweden
Official nameØresundsbron (used by company)
Øresundsbroen (Danish)
Öresundsbron (Swedish)
Websitewww.oresundsbron.com/private
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 & Schultz and Monberg & Thorsen
Construction start1995
Construction end1999
Construction cost19.6 billion DKK
25.8 billion SEK
2.6 billion EUR
Opened1 July 2000
Statistics
Daily traffic c. 18,434 road vehicles (2022)
TollDKK 455, SEK 673 or EUR 61 (as of 1 January 2024)
Location
Interactive map of Øresund Bridge (Danish spelling)
Öresund Bridge (Swedish spelling)
References
Øresund Tunnel
The Øresund Tunnel passing under the Drogden channel
Interactive map of Øresund Tunnel
Overview
Other nameDrogden Tunnel
LocationDrogden, Øresund
Coordinates55°37′9″N 12°42′28″E / 55.61917°N 12.70778°E / 55.61917; 12.70778
StatusActive
StartKastrup
EndPeberholm
Operation
Opened2000
TrafficØresund Line, E20
CharacterMainline railway, Highway
Technical
Length4,050 m (2.52 mi)
Track gauge1,435 mm (4 ft 8+12 in)
Electrified25 kV AC 50 Hz and 15 kV AC 16.7 Hz

The Øresund Bridge or Öresund Bridge is a combined railway and motorway cable-stayed bridge across the Øresund strait between Denmark and Sweden. It is the second longest bridge in Europe and combines both roadway and railway in a single structure, consisting of international European route E20 and the Øresund Line respectively. It runs nearly 8 kilometres (5 miles) from the Swedish coast to the artificial island of Peberholm in the middle of the strait. The Øresund Link is completed by the 4-kilometre (2.5 mi) Øresund Tunnel from Peberholm to the Danish island of Amager.

Construction began in 1995 and it opened to traffic on 1 July 2000. The bridge, as part of the Øresund Link, directly connects the road and rail networks of the Scandinavian Peninsula with Mainland Europe, via the Great Belt Fixed Link (constructed 1988–1998) connecting Zealand to Funen and thence to the Jutland Peninsula. Both projects helped to lessen the isolation of Sweden and the rest of Scandinavia from the rest of the continent. A data cable also makes the Øresund Link the backbone of Internet data transmission between central Europe and Sweden.

The bridge was designed by Jørgen Nissen and Klaus Falbe Hansen from Ove Arup & Partners, and Niels Gimsing and Georg Rotne. 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 nearby Copenhagen Airport, to provide a clear channel for ships in good weather or bad, and to prevent ice floes from blocking the strait. The bridge received the 2002 IABSE Outstanding Structure Award.