The suspension bridge that carries the motorway across Lillebælt
Two concrete pylons rise out of the water at Middelfart, and between them the roadway hangs from two thick steel cables. Stand on the lawn beneath the bridge on the Funen side, and the traffic passes high above you while Lillebælt (the Little Belt) opens out on both sides.
The New Lillebælt Bridge was built from 1965 to 1970 and opened on 21 October 1970 by King Frederik IX. Post-war growth in car traffic had overloaded the Old Lillebælt Bridge, so the state wanted to link Jutland and Funen in one continuous motorway network. The bridge is Denmark's first suspension bridge and carries six lanes between the Taulov motorway and the Funen motorway (Fynske Motorvej).
You can drive across the bridge free of charge.
Figures and dimensions
The bridge is 1,700 metres long and 33.3 metres wide. The main span between the pylons is 600 metres, and each side span measures 240 metres. The pylons are about 120 metres tall. The Old Lillebælt Bridge has a navigational clearance of 33 metres, and it is this bridge that sets the limit for ships on Lillebælt.
Solutions that set the standard
The engineers developed several new solutions for the bridge, later used on other bridges. The steel box of the bridge deck has a cross-section inspired by an aircraft wing, and wind-tunnel tests showed that gusts would not set the bridge swinging heavily. The pylons are cast in concrete, and calculations showed they can withstand a collision with a large ship. The anchor blocks lie underground in a snowplough shape, so the soft Lillebælt clay cannot make them slide.
The architect Orla Mølgaard-Nielsen was originally a cabinetmaker and qualified as an architect in 1940. Together with Peter Hvidt he designed the bridge in a simple form: two pylons, two cables and one long, level roadway.
Life beneath the bridge
The lawn beneath the bridge is the town's meeting place. Every June it becomes the stage for Rock under Broen (“Rock under the Bridge”). The rest of the year it hosts flea markets and circus shows.
A little closer to town lies the Old Lillebælt Bridge from 1935. Together, the two bridges are the reason Middelfart is called the City of Bridges.