The cycling and pedestrian ‘Inner Harbour Bridge’ finally opens in Copenhagen after years of delays

This is the forth bridge added to the network which started in 2014, when the city of Copenhagen decided to encourage more citizens to switch to bicycles

This is the forth bridge added to the network which started in 2014, when the city of Copenhagen decided to encourage more citizens to switch to bicycles

The 180m new bridge is called Inderhavnsbro (Inner Harbour Bridge) and connects the Nyhavn and Christianshavn districts. It saw its first cyclists and pedestrians on Thursday 7 July, after being under construction for 8 years! The bridge was originally planned to be completed by February 2013, but a number of problems kept pushing the deadline back: the initial financial backer for the project went bankrupt, the engineers had made a severe calculation error which meant that the two sides of the bridge would not connect properly, forcing the project to start over from scratch and finally in August 2015, it was discovered that the system that connects the bridge’s interlocking pieces did not line up correctly.

The Inner Harbour Bridge has already been given two nicknames among Copenhageners. It is called ‘The Kissing Bridge’ (Kyssebroen) by some due to the way the flowing bridge looks like two tongues meeting, while its proximity to Christiania has also earned it a slightly less flattering name: Den Skæve Hashbro, a double entendre that means both 'The Crooked Hash Bridge' and 'The Stoned Hash Bridge'.

It is the 4th bridge exclusively constructed for bicycles and pedestrians, after Cykelslangen –which opened in June 2014, Cirkelbroen (the Circle Bridge)- opened in August 2015 and the recently-completed Harbour Circle Path, opened in June 2016.

 Source: The local

The bridge was jam-packed on its opening evening. Photo: Jens Astrup/Scanpix

In addition to providing a major short-cut, the bridge also has lookout spots. Photo: Jens Astrup/Scanpix