The Great Belt Bridge

The Great Belt fixed link opened for trains in 1997 and for road traffic in 1998, replacing the ferries that used to cut Denmark in two. It runs about eighteen kilometres in three parts: a low box girder bridge from Funen out to the islet of Sprogo, then the East Bridge, a suspension span of 1,624 metres carried on pylons 254 metres tall, which was the second longest in the world when it opened in 1998, months after the Akashi Kaikyo bridge in Japan took the record, and it remains among the longest. Trains share the low bridge out to Sprogo and then run through a bored tunnel under the eastern channel instead of over the suspension bridge. From the shore at Korsor or Nyborg the whole line of it reads across the horizon.

History

Ferries between Korsør and Nyborg linked the railway lines on either side of the Great Belt from 1883, and road traffic moved to a crossing between Halsskov and Knudshoved in 1957. Plans for a fixed link were drawn up as early as the 1850s, the state railways proposed a bridge in 1934, and a first law was passed in 1973, but the project was put on hold in 1978 and restarted under a construction law of 1987. Designed by the engineers COWI and Ramboll with the architects Dissing+Weitling, the link was the largest building project in Danish history: the West Bridge for road and rail between Sprogø and Funen, built in 1988-1994 as two adjacent box girder bridges 6,611 metres long; the East Tunnel, carrying the railway under the eastern channel; and the East Bridge for road traffic, a suspension bridge built in 1991-1998 with a free span of 1,624 metres and pylons 254 metres high, the highest points on any self-supporting structure in Denmark. It was meant to be the longest suspension bridge in the world, but delays let the Akashi-Kaikyo Bridge open two months earlier. In 2022 the bridge carried the second stage of the Tour de France (Wikipedia, Great Belt Bridge).

What to look for

• The East Bridge - the suspension span with its 254 metre pylons.
• Sprogo - the islet in mid channel where the two bridges meet.
• The shore viewpoints - the approaches at Korsor and Nyborg looking along the span.
• The rail tunnel - the bored tubes carrying trains beneath the eastern channel.

When to go

Any time of year; the crossing is part of the drive or the train ride between Copenhagen and Jutland rather than a destination in itself. Clear weather matters, since haze hides the far pylon completely. Sunset from the Korsor side lights the cables. High winds occasionally close the bridge to high sided vehicles.

Before you go

There is no pedestrian or cycle access, so you experience it from a moving vehicle or from the shore, and the main span goes by in under a minute. The road toll is high for such a short crossing. Sprogo is not open to casual visitors. Photographs from the shore are the realistic option for most people.

Nearby

Korsor and Nyborg sit at either end; Trelleborg is a short drive inland on the Zealand side.

Key facts