When Sweden and Denmark built a connection between their countries, Sweden preferred a bridge, and Denmark preferred a tunnel, they each built their half and connected them in the middle with an artificial island. The Øresund Bridge is unique in the world.
There’s one in Virginia, the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel. There are two tunnels segments to go under major shipping channels. There are major naval bases upstream, and it was considered a national security risk to have a fleet potential trapped behind a downed bridge.
along with the Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel right next door
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge is another one. It’s a bridge most of the way but there’s one section that’s a tunnel.
Driving over from Hampton into Norfolk and seeing the carriers at dock is pretty cool.
Makes them look tiny relative to how large they actually are.
By contrast standing 100ft away is more like looking up at a freaking skyscraper.
That’s nothing. There’s a magic farmer near me. His tractor turns into a field.
Hahaha
That bridge it not unique at all. There is one in Virginia.
Every bridge is unique in the world, probably! But yeah, a silly sentence…
Virginia’s exists because the navy was worried that a bridge accident or attack could cut off Norfolk Naval Station from the Atlantic. Submarines cross under the bridge though.
It’s not like Denmark “preferred” a tunnel, it’s just there is an island and waters are shallow, so they didn’t need to go all-out “hammer supports in the sea”
IIRC the Island is artificial and the reason a tunnel was made was because the entry point would be too close to the airport, endangering the airport and the bridge.
you are both right
The justification for the additional expenditure and complexity related to digging a tunnel for part of the way, rather than raising that section of the bridge, was to avoid interfering with air traffic from the nearby Copenhagen Airport, to provide a clear channel for ships in good weather or bad, and to prevent ice floes from blocking the strait. The bridge received the 2002 IABSE Outstanding Structure Award.
A brunnel? A tridge?
They call the Virginia one a bridge-tunnel. The Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
I do not think that word means what you think it means.
There’s been a bridge/tunnel in Virginia since the 60’s, crossing the mouth of the Chesapeake bay where it opens to the Atlantic.
I just woke up and I was staring at the thumbnail of the article for too long, waiting for it to be a gif of the bridge transforming
I’m a little bummed it isn’t called the Brunnel.
And then back in to a bridge again!
This sort of bridge is featured in the last level of every Ace Combat game.
Like a Transformer…?
Another one of those needlessly expensive “because we could” projects.
Or maybe it was expensive but recouped huge amounts due to enabling travel between the two countries, which facilitates all kinds of economic activity
Sounds incredibly wrong but ok
Funnily enough it’s expected to fully pay back the cost it took to build via user fees, and it was financed by loans. Which means taxes weren’t even used for this. And that’s not even mentioning the indirect benefits the two countries had
