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BUILDING

Denmark makes bridge one metre too short

Authorities do not expect the opening ceremony of a bridge over a canal in western Jutland to be delayed, even though the concrete connection was delivered a metre too short.

Published: 15 September 2017 10:47 CEST
Denmark makes bridge one metre too short
Not the bridge in question. Photo: Iris/Scanpix

The problem with the shortfall was discovered on Tuesday this week, when the last section of the bridge was scheduled to be mounted over the canal, reports local media Jydske Vestkysten.

Invitations have already been sent by Esbjerg Municipality for the official opening of the bridge, which – almost – spans the Kongeåen canal near the town of Jedsted.

“We ordered a bridge to go from one side to the other. It doesn’t do that, and how [the supplier] solves that is their problem,” director for technology and the environment at Esbjerg Municipality Hans Kjær told Jydske Vestkysten.

“Our advisors and engineers are currently investigating what went wrong as well as working on solutions to the problem. Someone in the system must be red-faced, as we in Esbjerg Municipality have had advisors on the project, so the error must be there,” Kjær added.

Clarification as to the cause of the error may take some time, according to the report.

“Someone didn’t measure correctly, but both advisors and engineers have promised us that it will be ready for the opening on Friday [September 22nd, ed]. There should be a solution ready by then, but whether it will be a permanent or temporary one, I can’t say,” Kjær said.

READ ALSO: Copenhagen's 'Kissing Bridge' completed

TOUR

Queues on Øresund Bridge as Danes return from long weekend

Danes returning from a long weekend in Bornholm and holiday cottages in Skåne caused a 2km queue on Tuesday morning, adding to Swedes' irritation at being cut out a Nordic tourism deal.

Published: 2 June 2020 10:37 CEST
Queues on Øresund Bridge as Danes return from long weekend
There was a 6km queue after Pentecost on May 24. Photo: Johan Nilsson/TT/Scanpix
Copenhagen police reported the queue in a tweet at around 8am on Tuesday.  
 
The temporary border checks on the small artificial island of Peberholm (Pepparholm in Swedish), where the bridge over from Sweden turns into a tunnel, makes it much slower to get across the Öresund, meaning queues build up quickly whenever there is heavy traffic. 
 
“The police are in place and are trying to get people through the checks as quickly as possible,” security officer Thomas Hjermind told Ritzau at 9am. “The queue is 2km long. But the traffic is moving.”
 
The long weekend around Whit Sunday and Whit Monday in Denmark has meant that many have travelled into Sweden — some to get the ferry across to Bornholm, others to stay in summer cottages in Skåne and elsewhere. 
 
Police told Ritzau that the queue was mainly formed of Danes on their way back from holiday in Sweden, together with a few Swedish cross-border workers. 
 
READ ALSO:  
 
Since Denmark imposed border controls on March 14, Danes have been able to travel to Sweden unhindered while Swedes have only been allowed into Denmark if they have a “worthy purpose”. 
 
 
Danes are supposed to go into quarantine for 14 days on their return, but this is voluntary and it seems that few do. 
 
Last Friday, Denmark's government announced that it was ready to allow tourists from Norway, Germany and Iceland into the country, but not those from Sweden.
 
“It seems absolutely crazy. Total double standards,” Christer Mårtensson, 61, from Hjärup in Skåne told Denmark's BT tabloid. 
 
“If the authorities are so afraid of the Swedes being infected don't they think that the Danes can take the infection back with them?” he added. 
 
“It doesn't make sense. It's pure populism, and it seems as if Mette Frederiksen is just trying to improve her popularity on at home.” 
 
While Sweden as a whole has higher infection rates than Denmark, Region Skåne has a lower rate
than in Copenhagen area. 
 
According to Sweden's Kvällsposten newspaper, there have been 17.8 coronavirus-related deaths per 100,000 inhabitants in Copenhagen, and just 13.3 in Skåne. 
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