Øresund Bridge
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 from the Swedish coast to the artificial island of Peberholm in the middle of the strait. The Øresund Link is completed by the 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 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.
History
Over the years, there have been several proposals for a fixed link across the strait. One of the most radical was to dam the strait and then pump out the water to create land for development. Ideas for a fixed link across the Øresund were advanced as early as the late 1800s. And in 1910, proposals were put to the Swedish Parliament for a railway tunnel across the strait, which would have comprised two tunnelled sections linked by a surface route across the island of Saltholm. 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.The idea was dropped during World War II, but picked up again thereafter and studied in significant detail in various Danish-Swedish government commissions through the 1950s and 1960s. In 1954, the first Øresund Delegation was appointed to investigate the conditions for a bridge link. In its final report in 1962, the delegation proposed a tall bridge of reinforced concrete. The cost was estimated at SEK 600 million and was to be financed by a bridge toll of SEK 15.
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 at Helsingør–Helsingborg, north of Copenhagen, and some arguing for a more direct link from Copenhagen to Malmö. Additionally, some regional and local interests argued that other bridge and road projects, notably the then-unbuilt Great Belt Fixed Link, should take priority. The governments of Denmark and Sweden eventually signed an agreement to build a fixed link in 1973. 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 between Helsingør and Helsingborg.
However, that project was cancelled in 1978 due to the economic situation, and growing environmental concerns. As the economic situation improved in the 1980s, interest resumed and the governments signed a new agreement in 1991.
Political decisions
During the planning of the Øresund Link, a choice was made between the Helsingborg-Helsingør and Malmö-Copenhagen routes. However, a great advantage was seen in prioritizing the connection between the major central cities of Copenhagen and Malmö. Another factor against Helsingborg-Helsingør may have been the difficulty of resolving through traffic in the municipalities on the Danish side and the fact that, despite the proximity of the towns, the tunnel had to be long because of the location of the settlements and the depth of the strait,, which also posed geological difficulties. However, a Helsingborg-Helsingør tunnel is still included in the infrastructure planning.The Danish and Swedish governments agreed on 23 March 1991 to build a combined road and rail link between Kastrup and Limhamn. The link would consist of an immersed tunnel from Kastrup to an artificial island southwest of Saltholm and then on as a bridge to Limhamn. Over the and Trindelrännan fairways, there would be main spans with a vertical clearance of at least and respectively. The clear width would be at least and respectively. The parties agreed that the final design could be adjusted for environmental, technical and economic reasons. This was indeed the case. The artificial island, Peberholm, ended up just south of Saltholm and instead of two main spans, there was a larger main span over Flintrännan. The route of Flintrännan was shifted one kilometer to the east. The countries created their own companies, A/S Øresundsforbindelsen and Svensk-danska broförbindelsen AB, Svedab AB, and these became half-owners of the joint. The consortium was given responsibility for the construction and operation of the link.
Mainly in Denmark, but also in Sweden, there was interest during construction in adding a bicycle lane at a cost of SEK 210 million, but the Swedish department of the bridge company said no.
The bridge was a recurring feature of Swedish political debate for decades. Many commentators opposed its construction on environmental grounds, as the consequence of the bridge was considered to be "that road transport will continue to increase rapidly", as Anders Wijkman, Secretary General of the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, wrote in 1990. For the Centre Party, opposition to the bridge was long a central issue. Party leader Olof Johansson resigned from Carl Bildt's government in protest against the bridge. Since the bridge was built, however, criticism has all but died down.
Design competition and procurement
At the end of 1992, the Øresundsbro Konsortiet launched a competition for the design of the link. Six entries were submitted, including one designed by Santiago Calatrava and another by Norman Foster, but two others were selected for further development and procurement. The ASO Group, with Georg Rotne as architect, proposed that the bridge itself be made mainly of steel in two levels, with highway on top and train traffic below. ØLC instead placed highway and rail in the same plane on a concrete bridge. Both groups advocated an inclined cable-stayed bridge over the Flintrännan. The procurement of the entire Øresund Link was divided into different contracts, including one contract for the two access bridges and another for the main span. In November 1995, Sundlink Contractors was able to sign a contract with the Øresundsbro Konsortiet to build both the access bridges and the main span in accordance with the ASO Group's proposal, at a cost of DKK 6.8 billion. For the preparation of its tender, Sundlink had engaged the services of the engineering consultants COWI from Denmark and VBB from Sweden. They were now tasked with developing the proposals in detail and controlling the further work.Requirements and design
The owners had set high safety and environmental standards for the contractors. Among other things, the bridges had to:- Withstand collisions from ships and aircraft as well as earthquakes
- Withstand fast passenger trains and heavy freight trains
- Road traffic at
- Withstand high wind speeds
- Have a lifespan of at least 100 years
- The flow of water through the Sound would not be affected
Sundlink used many subcontractors from different countries with different languages and cultures. Since the countries could have different terminology and standards, it was decided to use the then rather untested European standards for structural design, the Eurocodes. Sundlink also set up its own facility at Norra hamnen in Malmö for concrete casting, assembly and logistics.
Construction
An OMEGA centre report identified the following as primary motivations for construction of the bridge:- to improve transport links in northern Europe, from Hamburg to Oslo;
- 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;
- connecting the two largest cities of the region, which were both experiencing economic difficulties;
- improving communications to Copenhagen airport, the main flight transport hub in the region.
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. However, since 2005, traffic levels have increased rapidly. This may be due to Danes buying homes in Sweden to take advantage of lower housing prices in Malmö and commuting to work in Denmark. In 2012, to cross by car cost DKK 310, SEK 375 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.