In the age of high technology, tourists have the opportunity to admire not only the ancient monuments of architecture, but also the masterpieces of modern engineering. Tokyo and Dubai, and other similar cities, have also become pilgrimage centers for travelers. But the "old woman" Europe has something to surprise the tourist in terms of cutting edge technology. One of the achievements of engineering at the very end of the last millennium was the Öresund Tunnel Bridge, which connected two countries - Denmark and Sweden. We will talk about him in our article.
Construction
Previously, in order to travel from one country to another, it was necessary to take the ferry. This led to the fact that ships constantly cruised along the Öresund Strait, interfering with the advancement of ocean vessels in the direction of the Baltic Sea. Not to mention the lines of cars piling up in anticipation of the ferry. Therefore, in the early nineties of the last century, it was decided to build a bridge between Denmark and Sweden. We started to create it in 1995. Construction did not proceed smoothly.
At first, the workers discovered as many as eighteen unexploded torpedoes from the Second World War on the seabed. Then it turned out that, due to a small engineering error, the skew of one of the bridge spans went. Nevertheless, the construction was completed even three months ahead of schedule. The bridge was commissioned in August 1999, when Danish Prince Friedrich and Princess of Sweden Victoria met in the middle of this structure. But the ruling monarchs of the two countries - Margrethe the Second and Karl Gustav the Sixteenth - cut the symbolic red ribbon almost a year later. Thus, officially the bridge "Denmark-Sweden" was opened on July 1, 2000.
What makes a unique design
This highway connects the capital of Copenhagen with the city of Malmo, located in the south of the Scandinavian Peninsula. If you look at the structure from a great height, for example, from an airplane, it seems that the bridge between Denmark and Sweden has remained unfinished. It ends near the artificial island of Peberholm. But this is a misleading impression. Just in this section, the bridge goes under water and turns into a tunnel. The fact is that rare mollusks live off the coast of Denmark. In particular, in order to maintain an endangered view, it was decided to lower the bridge into the sea depths. So, the whole structure consists of three parts. The first is the surface part, which looks like a bridge familiar to us. Next up is the artificial Pepper Island, so named because of its shape, and an underground tunnel running under the bottom of the Öresund Strait.
Parameters of the surface part of the structure
Let us now consider in more detail the dimensions of this newly appeared wonder of the world. The length of the above-ground structure is almost eight kilometers. More precisely, 7845 meters. Then it rests on an artificial island, where the landing helipad for emergency situations is located. But the length of only the surface part of eight kilometers makes the Öresund bridge, a photo of which is decorated with travel guides in Sweden and Denmark, one of the tourist attractions.
Supports ascend to a height beyond the reach of even the most severe northern storms. So that ocean vessels can safely pass under the bridge, the main span has a parameter of fifty-seven meters. This is approximately the height of a twenty-story building. This bridge is two-story. Below is a double-track railway. And at the very top are four lanes for cars. The height of the road surface is two hundred and four meters. The feeling of those traveling by car is as if they are flying on an airplane over the surface of the sea.
Oresund Bridge Tunnel. Underwater
When the bridge reaches the bulk island of Peberholm, the supports lower. Further, both railroad tracks and car lanes diverge along their tunnels. They are five pipes: two for trains traveling in different directions, two more for cars, and one for emergency situations. Together, they make up the Drogden Tunnel. This is a very important part of the design. Its length is four kilometers, almost two times less than the Öresund bridge. But the realization that you are traveling at a depth of nine meters, and even under the seabed, excites many motorists. Especially when you look at the navigator. It shows that you are moving on water.
Fare
The Öresund Bridge Tunnel is a grandiose project of the end of the last century. To build it, Denmark laid out thirty billion crowns. Therefore, the passage on the bridge is quite expensive. You need to pay at the terminals with Swedish, Danish kroner or Euro. Each type of car has its own rate. Passenger cars on the Öresund bridge-tunnel will cost an average of forty euros. Every day, the border between Denmark and Sweden for this architectural miracle crosses sixty thousand cars. In addition, a train runs every quarter of an hour across the bridge. The governments of both countries encourage their citizens to make such trips. Many residents of Copenhagen buy housing in the provincial Malmo and travel daily to work in the Danish capital by bridge. There are discounts for them (75-80%). But even with such a congestion, the Öresund bridge promises to pay off only by 2035.
Tourist attraction
Perhaps the Swedes and Danes, who daily cross the symbolic border between their states, no longer see any exotic design. For them, this is just a convenient way in 25 minutes by high-speed train and in 40 minutes by car from Copenhagen to Malmö or in the opposite direction. But for tourists from other countries, the Öresund Bridge Tunnel is a real attraction. Driving on the surface, you can enjoy the sea views. And diving into the tunnel, it is impossible not to appreciate the greatness of human genius.