Öresund Bridge 20 years
Since 2000, the Öresund Bridge connects Sweden and Denmark. But it connects much more than that. The bridge also enables access to work, studies and culture. On July 1, 2020, the 15.9 kilometer bridge celebrates its 20th anniversary.
The bridge creates a pulsating stream of life and movement between the countries. When it opened in 2001, a total of 2,950,872 vehicles crossed over it. In 2019, that figure was 7,454,231 vehicles.
We are proud to have been part of joining Sweden and Denmark and created a road down to Europe. Together during these 20 years, we have enabled about 114 million vehicles to cross the Strait using the bridge.
An important link to the continent
On July 1, 2000, the Öresund Bridge was opened. The Bridge immediately accelerated development and today, the Öresund region is one of Europe’s most dynamic growth regions.
The Öresund Bridge has provided people on both sides of the Strait with opportunities for housing, jobs and studies. Every day, approximately 20,000 individuals commute across the Strait. It takes about ten minutes by car across Öresund, but by train it is much faster. For Sweden, the Bridge is also an important link to the continent.
It was in 1995 that the Öresund consortium awarded the contract to the Sundlink Contractors building consortium for construction of the bridge. Skanska, which has extensive experience in bridge building, was part of Sundlink Contractors, along with three other bridge builders. The gigantic building project required the best possible expertise, material, technology and control.
The Öresund Bridge was completed six months ahead of schedule and within the budget framework. The success was due to excellent cooperation between the client and contractor. All parties were very clear in their communication and worked toward common goals.
The building project was special in many aspects. Naturally, the size of the bridge made the project highly complicated and required enormous precision. The weather and sea currents occasionally caused concerns. It also involved minimizing disruptions to shipping activities in Öresund. The bridge connected two countries, the construction companies were from several different countries and the bridge sections were manufactured in Spain and Sweden. A maximum of 1,300 individuals worked on the Öresund Bridge.
Facts about the Öresund link
The bridge is 16 kilometers long and comprises 7.8 kilometers of bridge, the 4-kilometer artificial island Peberholm, a 3.5 kilometer underground tunnel and a 0.5-kilometer artificial peninsula at Kastrup. Skanska built the bridge itself..
