Finally: Copenhagen bridge no longer a bridge too far

Inderhavnsbroen to be handed over to municipality in June

Copenhagen’s most infamous pedestrian and cycle bridge, Inderhavnsbroen, is expected to finally be completed in June, according to Copenhagen Municipality.

The bridge, which was originally due to be opened in 2013, is currently going though testing of its new boogie system by the contractor Valmont SM. Tests have revealed there is still some fine tuning to be done.

“It’s the final and very important details that will ensure that this very complicated bridge construction will work completely as it’s supposed to,” said Anders Møller, a spokesperson for Copenhagen Municipality.

“The bridge is designed to swing in a light s-curve while simultaneously having two moving bridge spans that push to and fro in the s-curve. It therefore demands millimetre-precision to get it to run perfectly.”

READ MORE: Notorious city harbour bridge delayed yet again

Tentative June opening
The bridge was scheduled to open this month, but testing has revealed the two bridge spans don’t stop in the precise areas every time they join up. The stopping area fluctuates by 10-15 millimetres.

While the municipality expects to open the bridge as soon as possible once the bridge is handed over to them, a final opening date has yet to be decided.

“We of course expect that this timeframe will hold firm,” said Møller.

“But in light of the bridge’s history, we need to act cautiously until it is delivered to us. So there won’t be a final opening date until we are at the finish line.”

See a complete timeline of the long-winded bridge saga here (in Danish).