Sunday, June 19, 2005

Oresund Bridge


Oresund Bridge
Originally uploaded by bd58.
I decided to sleep in, not wanting to get up to take shots of the bridge. Werner, my driver, said he'd be happy to do it for me. After seeing the photos he took, I hate missing it.

The Oresend Bridge was opened on 1st July, 2000. The bridge links Denmark and Sweden together for the first time since the Ice Age. The new road and rail project covers 10.5 miles (17km) between Malmo and Copenhagen and now physically links together Sweden and the rest of Western Europe.

The ferry that goes between Malmo and Copenhagen takes three-quarters of an hour while travellers using the bridge can get across in a car in just over ten minutes.

Plans to link Malmo and Copenhagen dates back to the 1800s. However, nationalist objections in the 19th century and environmental protesters in recent years were able to block plans to link the people from these two great cities.

The Oresend Bridge took four years and cost £3.3 billion to build. The bridge at 1,624 metres, is the second longest suspension bridge in the world. The main bridge pylons are the tallest structures in Sweden, with a height of 203.5 metres. The Oresend Link passes over the artificial island of Pepparholm and through the world's longest submerged tunnel beneath the Danish section of the sound.

Designed by George Rothne, the bridge has no cross-beams between the pylon towers. Rothne explained: "I don't like too much flamboyance. And I wanted the bridge to be, if not S-shaped, then curved, and for the girders to be black. Bright colours would have faded away; but black is versatile and can serve as a variety of colours, depending on the light and from where you view the bridge."

The venue looks like a overgrown high school gym, but it holds 5,000. Didn't see the show tonight – getting caught up on work. Actually TRIED to see the last 2 songs, but it must have been 110 degrees in there and it was so humid that when I opened the backstage door, my glasses completely fogged up. I'll pass on the heat & humidity.

12 hour drive on the bus tonight to Rotterdam for a day off. I sit up waaay too late hanging with the audio crew and Ridley. What a bunch of funny fuckers.

Follow the Bobzilla's Photos link at the right to see photos from my travels.

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