SCANDINAVIA:Crossing Gets Good Traffic

Overall heavy truck traffic has risen 45% and private car trips are up 2.5 fold in total on the bridge and ferries combined as compared to the amount of traffic before the bridge with ferries alone. The greater convenience and higher service of the bridge, and competitive pricing has encouraged the sharp increase in total transport, as businesses find greater efficiency in integrated operations and people visit more often, says the bridge operator, Sund & Belt.

The Great Belt bridge consists of a relatively low level western bridge of 6.6km to the tiny island of Sprogo, a bridge which also carries rail. Between Sprogo and Zeeland is a deep shipping channel, where the rail goes into a 8km long tunnel. Road goes on an East Bridge 6.8km long with a main suspension span of 1,624m (5327') the second longest in the world (pic p10). The towers go up 254m (833'). The Great Baelt crossing, road and rail cost $3b.

Sund & Baelt, a business unit owned by the states of Denmark and Sweden which operates the Great Baelt crossing is also building the Oresund Crossing, a $2.7b 16km long bridge-tunnel between Copenhagen Denmark and Malmo Sweden across the mouth of the Baltic Sea. This crossing which also has four road lanes and two rail lines has 20 sections of immersed tube tunnel for 3.5km underwater. The 4km middle of the crossing is on an artificial island built from dredge material. Then moving further east toward Sweden a doubledeck bridge (road over rail) of 8km has a cable stayed bridge at its centerpoint with a 490m mainspan. The towers 205m high (670') that are nearing completion are said to be the highest structures in the Malmo-Copenhagen region. The project has made up time following a near-catastrophe last year when one tunnel section burst its water seal and filled with water. Fortunately noone was hurt.

A major disappointment for the concessionaire company has been a government decision that a value added tax (VAT) applies to tolls. Ferry fares across the Oresund have never incurred the VAT and VAT was not factored into the financial planning of the toll facility. But the two governments have insisted on the tax applying to tolls. Sund & Baelt say that because of the competitive situation with the ferries the VAT – which runs in the range 6 to 25% – cannot be passed on to motorists. Carried by the binational company the VAT will lengthen the bond repayment schedule by about 10 years, according to Jacob Vestergaard, a Sund & Baelt spokesman.

Extensive new motorways are being built linking the two crossings to the road systems of the two countries and the coming of fast roadway connections is considered likely to produce increased movement between the two countries. Copenhagen will become far more accessible to southern Sweden and people in each area will find new areas of comparative advantage in international movement. One transport analyst who knows the area says he thinks the traffic and revenue forecasts are unduly conservative and that the 4-lane facility will be quickly congested at certain rush hours. He thinks variable pricing will have to be introduced since capacity expansion will be extremely difficult and costly.

The 2x2 lane Orseund motorway has already been opened between Copenhagen and the airport (located close by the portal to the tunnel works) and is carrying 31k veh/day. It is popular with local residents because it has diminished traffic on a local signalized arterial Vejlands Alle that previously took all the airport traffic from 44k to 21 veh/day.

The full Oresund crossing is due to open July 1, 2000.

(Contact Jacob Vestergaard 45 3393 5200 www.storebaelt.dk TRnl#3 May 96 p1, TRnl#14 Apr 97 p7, TRnl#26, Apr 98 p5)