The Oresund Bridge connects the two metropolitan areas of the Oresund Region: the Danish capital Copenhagen and the Swedish town Malmo. It has two rail-road tracks and four-lane road. Oresund Bridge is the longest combined rail-road bridge in Europe. The international European route E20 passes through this bridge.
Bridge was completed August 14, 1999. The Crown Prince Frederick of Denmark and the Swedish Crown Princess Victoria met in the middle of the bridge to celebrate its completion. The official opening was on July 1, 2000, attended by Queen Margaret II of Denmark and King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden. The bridge was opened to traffic the same day. Before the inauguration 79,871 runners competed in a half marathon distance (Broloppet, the Bridge Run) from Amager (in Denmark) and Skane (Sweden) on June 12, 2000.
The bridge has one of the largest central spans in the world, with 490 m. The highest pillar measured 204 m. The total length of the bridge is 7845 m, corresponding to approximately half the distance between the coasts of Sweden and Denmark, and its weight is 82,000 t. The rest of the distance covered by the artificial island of Peberholm (4,055 m), and then a tunnel (3,510 m ) on the Danish side. The two railway lines are under the tracks of the road. The bridge has a height of 57 meters. However, most of the boats that travel in the Sound make it through the Strait of Drogden (where the tunnel).
The tunnel was built through concrete sections constructed on land, in Cadiz (Spain), which were towed by boats to the right place. It was built as a tunnel, bridge and island, since the whole 16 km stretch of tunnel would be too expensive. And was not built 16 km of bridge as it had to ensure the airworthiness of the area, because the airport Kastrup (Copenhagen Airport) is located near the current entrance of the tunnel.
From this standpoint, connecting the Denmark and Sweden are far superior to that achieved by the Eurotunnel between France and England. Proof of this is that the ferry service Copenhagen-Malmo finally disappear, Elsinore-Helsingborg had reduced their frequency, whereas in the English Channel still circulating many ferry lines, as is usually the cheapest then Eurotunnel. Series of new dual-voltage trains were developed to Copenhagen to join the southern Swedish city Malmo, Gothenburg and Kalmar. X2000 trains from Stockholm also circulating on the bridge. The Copenhagen-Kastrup Airport has its own station on the western edge of the bridge. Trains cross the strait every 20 minutes and every hour during the night.
A road trip, at normal speed from Copenhagen to Malmo, lasts about 15 minutes. It should be noted that the maximum speed is not fixed, as some light panel located on the road vary according to traffic conditions. In 2005 and 2006 has seen a large increase in the volume of traffic on the bridge. This phenomenon may be due to Danes buying houses in Sweden, as the price of housing in Malmo is lower than in Copenhagen, and their work in Denmark. The common price for a car is 260 DKK, 325 SEK or 36 Euros, but discounts are applied to 75% for those who cross the bridge regularly. By 2007, 25 million people traveled over the bridge: 15.2 million by car and bus and 9.6 million by the train.
Oresund Bridge Wallpapers
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