This is the Øresund, an ingenious feat of engineering that connects Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, to Malmo, a city in Sweden.
This is a bridge that transitions to a tunnel, taking travelers from Denmark to Sweden underwater.
The bridge is 5 miles long, and leads to a manmade island that turns into a tunnel.
COWI, a Danish engineering firm designed this impressive structure. The team was lead by architect George K.S. Rotne.
The bridge and tunnel are operated by both countries, and there is a toll required to use them.
The manmade island that links the bridge to the tunnel is called Peberholm, and was made from material taken up from the seabed beneath.
Plants and animals are allowed to live freely on the island which made it a hotspot for biologists. They have identified over 500 different types of plants that now call the island their home and it has also become the habitat of a rare toad.
You can see the toll stations and the railway, which also operates on the structure.
The pylons were the only pieces of the bridge to be constructed where it stands and the rest was built on land and placed by floating cranes.
The bridge spans across the Flinte Channel, and holds cars on the upper level and the railway beneath. The two pilons, which are 670 feet tall, support the bridge.
Since its opening, on July 1, 2000, this award-winning structure has provided 3.7 million residents with a route that allows them to work on either side.
The journey between Copenhagen and Malmo takes just over 30 minutes. Over 65 percent of the people who use this route travel by train.
This structure is proof of amazing things that can happen when a practical need meets a creative solution.
If you know someone who might like this, please click “Share!”