Oresund Bridge

The Oresund Bridge (joint Danish/Swedish hybrid name: Øresundsbron/Öresundsbron) (offical name is the Øresundsförbindelsen, the Oresund Connection)is a combined two-track rail and four-lane road bridge across the Oresund strait. It is the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe and connects the two metropolitan areas of the Oresund Region, the Danish capital of Copenhagen with the Swedish city of Malmö. The international European route E20 runs across the bridge.

Related Topics:
Danish - Swedish - Rail - Bridge - Oresund - Metropolitan areas - Oresund Region - Danish - Copenhagen - Swedish - Malmö - European route E20

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The last section was put down on August 14, 1999. Danish Heir Apparent Frederik and his Swedish counterpart Crown Princess Victoria met midway to celebrate its completion. The official inauguration took place on July 1, 2000, with Danish Queen Margrethe II, and her Swedish counterpart King Carl XVI Gustaf, presiding. The bridge was opened for traffic later that day. Before the inauguration 79,871 runners competed in a half distance marathon (Broloppet, the Bridge Run) from Amager (in Denmark) to Skåne (in Sweden) on June 12, 2000. The public transport by rail is operated jointly by the Swedish SJ and the Danish DSB.

Related Topics:
August 14 - 1999 - Heir Apparent - Frederik - Victoria - July 1 - 2000 - Margrethe II - Carl XVI Gustaf - Marathon - Amager - Denmark - Skåne - Sweden - June 12 - Public transport - SJ - DSB

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The bridge has one of the longest cable-stayed main spans in the world at 490 metres. The height of the highest pillar is 204 metres. The total length of the bridge is 7,845 meters, which is approximately half the distance between the Swedish and Danish landmasses, and its weight is 82 million kilograms. The rest of the distance is spanned by the artificial island Peberholm ("Pepper" islet) (4,055 m), (named as a counterpart to the already existing Saltholm islet) followed by a tunnel (3,510 m) on the Danish side. The two rail-tracks are beneath the four road lanes. The bridge has a vertical clearance of 57 metres, although most boat traffic across Oresund still passes over the Drogden strait (where the tunnel lies).

Related Topics:
Cable-stayed - Metre - Weight - Kilogram - Peberholm - Saltholm

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Instead of calling the bridge "Øresundsbroen" in Danish and "Öresundsbron" in Swedish, a compromise was made and the bridge was baptized "Øresundsbron" as the official name, although the Swedish spelling remains common in everyday usage in Sweden, and the Danish in Denmark.

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As far as the number of cars using the bridge it has not been as well used as was hoped, largely due to the expense of crossing. As of 2005 a single trip across the bridge costs DKK 235, SEK 285 or ? 32. The train traffic across the bridge is doing very well. The cost for the bridge is expected to be payed back to the creditors ahead of schedule.

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