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The £3.4bn bridge connecting Sweden and Denmark that costs £50 to cross

The Oresund Bridge has been connecting Sweden and Denmark for over 24 years, with around 70,000 people crossing daily.

Isobel Pankhurst Audience Writer and Holly Kintuka 15:31, 06 Dec 2025

Oresund bridge between Malmo in Sweden and Copenhagen in Denmark.View 2 ImagesThis is the second longest bridge in Europe(Image: Marcus Lindstrom via Getty Images)

For over 24 years, the 8-kilometre Oresund Bridge has been a vital link between Sweden[1] and Denmark[2], offering a combined railway and motorway connection across the Oresund strait.

The bridge, a collaborative project between Swedish company Svedab and Danish firm A/S Oresundsforbindelsen, forms half of the journey from Sweden to the Danish Island of Amager.

Starting near the city of Malmo on the Swedish coast[3], it stretches to the man-made Danish Island of Peberholm, nestled in the heart of the strait.

From Peberholm, a tunnel completes the remaining journey to the island of Amager, home to Copenhagen[4] airport, bringing the total distance travelled to around 16 km.

Ariel view of MalmoView 2 ImagesThe bridge runs from near Malmo in Sweden(Image: Getty)

Work on the bridge kicked off in 1995, and it officially opened its lanes to traffic in July 2000. Just two years later, it was honoured with the IABSE Outstanding Structure Award.

Peberholm serves as a junction between the tunnel and the bridge.

It's equipped with a motorway exit, restricted to authorised vehicles only, and a helicopter pad for use in the event of road accidents.

The bridge, which sees an average daily footfall of 70,000 people, came with a hefty price tag of around GBP3.4 billion.

The cost is expected to be recouped by 2037.

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Crossing fees vary depending on the type of vehicle.

Motorcyclists are charged GBP25.68, passenger cars GBP50.77, and vans, motorhomes or passenger cars with a trailer pay a whopping GBP178.55.

The Oresund Bridge takes the silver medal for being the second-longest bridge in Europe, only surpassed by the 18.1km Kerch Bridge.

The latter stretches across the Kerch Strait, connecting the Taman Peninsula of Krasnodar Krai in Russia and the Kerch Peninsula of Crimea.

References

  1. ^ Sweden (www.mirror.co.uk)
  2. ^ Denmark (www.mirror.co.uk)
  3. ^ near the city of Malmo on the Swedish coast (www.mirror.co.uk)
  4. ^ Copenhagen (www.mirror.co.uk)