New wind screening makes the Great Belt Bridge even better

Road users can look forward to an even more comfortable and not least – if you are travelling with empty trailers – safer experience when crossing the Great Belt Bridge during strong crosswinds. 

Consisting of vertical slats around anchor blocks and pylons, the new wind screening on the East Bridge protects vehicles susceptible to strong wind conditions from strong gusts, which might potentially lead to accidents. The wind screening is part of a major upgrade of the traffic safety on the section across the Great Belt and, combined with moveable crash barriers, it helps ensure a smoother traffic flow on the bridge in case of tailbacks caused by accidents. The moveable crash barriers have not only boosted traffic safety; they also offer significantly safer settings when Sund & Bælt needs to do O&M works on the bridge. 

With the support of COWI, Sund & Bælt decided to install wind screening, based on analyses of wind-related traffic accidents and traffic restrictions. Sund & Bælt also wanted to prioritise the design of the wind screening and how it would affect the overall architectural expression of the bridge. 

The screening is designed as a 20-metre section on one side of the anchor blacks and 2 x 20-metre sections on each side of every pylon.

In collaboration with architects Dissing+Weitling and FORCE Technology, COWI designed the wind screening and assisted in interpreting the results of wind tunnel tests.