Great belt bridge or say great belt fixed link, a fixed link between the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen across the green belt. Since years Denmark was divided by 18 km wide water great belt which created lot of problems for the people to travel across. Boats, ferries and other water tracks were used to get through the water belt which not only wasted time but also was resource exploitation.
It was since 1997 when great belt bridge was completed and it allowed for the wheelers to get across the great belt. It comprises of road suspension and a railway tunnel between Zealand and the islet Sprogo, along with a box girder bridge between Sprogo and Funen. The attractive feature lies in the fact that it provides all facilities of roadways and railways unlike many other bridges.
Construction of Great Belt Bridge
It was one of the biggest architectural projects in the history Denmark. It no only leaves a landmark for Denmark but also is a magnificent piece of modern technology. However, it was not easy to construct this masterpiece. Rather the GPS satellite navigation system was used to ensure the precision of the construction.
This project basically comprised of three different tasks to get better facilities.
- The eastern bridge for roadways.
- The western bridge for roadways and railways, both.
- And the tunnel for rail transportation.
The Eastern Bridge
This part seems to be the most impressive part of the bridge, being 6790 meters long. The two towers bearing all the weight aregrounded at a distance of 1624 meters with a soaring height of 254 meters. This massive structure has all the more contributed to the hanging structure for cars and other wheeler vehicles to cut short the trip time. It is considered to be the second largest suspension bridge after Akashi Kaikyo bridge of Japan. However, the vertical clearance for ships is placed at 65 meters above the sea level.
The western Bridge
It bridges the gap between Sprogo and knudshoved and falls in the category of box girder bridges which was constructed from 1988 to 1994. With a length of about 6611 meters, it can be divided into two separate bridges that run parallel above water to provide to carry both, rail traffic and road vehicles. The clearance for ship is 18 meters i.e. 59ft above the sea level, however, the foundations for this part of the bridge lies below the sea level at the sea bed. It is being supported by 62 pillars comprising a road/rail deck categorized to 63 sections.
The tunnel
The tunnel at great belt suspension bridge is a miraculous source that provides base for rail transport. It is twin bored that is 8km distance for both tunnels. Between the two main tunnels, eastern tunnel and western tunnel, 31 other connecting tunnels are constructed. Each connecting tunnels are well equipped of train operation machines which not only provides a secured journey for travelers, but also, at the time of emergency, they are the escape routes for people.
Also, it is interesting to know that the eastern part of this bridge is quiet higher than western part. The highways for car traffic were constructed side by side while construction and to recover the cost of construction, toll booths were opened soon for the local users.
