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( Oresund Bridge)
Properly spelled with diacritics, the Øresund or Öresund Bridge (Danish Øresundsbroen, Swedish Öresundsbron, joint hybrid name Øresundsbron) is a combined two-track rail and four-lane road bridge across the Öresund strait. The bridge-tunnel is the longest combined road and rail bridge in Europe and connects the two metropolitan areas of the Öresund Region the Danish capital of Copenhagen and the Swedish city of Malmö. The international European route E20 runs across the bridge and through the tunnel via the two lane motorway, as does the Öresund Railway Line. The bridge is the longest border crossing bridge in the world,[4] but due to the Schengen Agreement, there are no passport or customs controls. In Sweden and Denmark the bridge is most often referred to as Öresundsbron or Øresundsbroen, respectively. The bridge company itself insists on Øresundsbron, a compromise between the two languages which would symbolise a common cultural identity of the region, the people becoming 'Öresund citizens' once the bridge was established. Since it is actually a bridge and a tunnel, it is sometimes more technically correctly named the Öresund Link or Öresund Connection (Danish Øresundsforbindelsen, Swedish Öresundsförbindelsen). The Sound Bridge is occasionally heard, using the traditional English name of the strait. Construction began in 1995. The last section was constructed on 14 August 1999. Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden met midway to celebrate its completion. The official inauguration took place on 1 July 2000, with Queen Margrethe II, and King Carl XVI Gustaf, presiding. The bridge was opened for traffic later that day. Before the inauguration 79,871 runners competed in a half marathon (Broloppet, the Bridge Run) from Amager (in Denmark) to Skåne (in Sweden) on 12 June, 2000. The bridge was finished three months ahead of schedule. Initially the usage of the bridge was not as high as expected, which was generally attributed to the expense of crossing. However, 2005 and 2006 saw a rapid increase in the volume of traffic on the bridge. This phenomenon may be due to Danes buying homes in Sweden and commuting to work in Denmark, because the price of housing in Malmö is lower than in Copenhagen. In 2008, a single car ride across the bridge cost DKK 260, SEK 325 or €36 (however, discounts of up to 75% are available for regular users). In 2007, almost 25 million people travelled over the bridge, 15.2 million in cars and buses and 9.6 million by train.
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