Gold Bridge Arrives at Slussen

With all the bad news recently, it is nice with a little good news (at least for Stockholmers). Anyone who has been in Stockholm in the past year or two has surely noted the giant construction site at Slussen. In short, Slussen is the water locks connecting the Baltic with Lake Mälaren as well as the bridge connecting the old town (Gamla Stan) with Södermalm. They are rebuilding the whole system and you can read more about the project in a recent blog article I wrote about it.

Where the bridge will be inserted.

While the project is not expected to be fully complete until 2025, a big component of the new Slussen arrived the other day... the Gold Bridge (guldbron)! And it arrived by an actual slow boat from China. This is because it was constructed in China and then transported to Stockholm. The bridge weighs about 3,700 tons and is 140 meters long and 45 meters wide. It will connect, as I mentioned, Gamla Stan with the island of Södermalm (where the Hotel Rival is located). The bridge is expected to open for traffic already this August.

Unofficially, it is called the Gold Bridge because they will be painting a golden finish on it here in Stockholm (it is currently a yellowish color). It should be pointed out that it won't be a glittering gold color. Architects have designed it to compliment the color of the surroundong buildings, many which are painted in yellow and orange hues. People in Sweden have been following the progress of the boat as it has made its way from China, delayed a few times due to stormy seas. On Wednesday, it finally arrived. I went down to the waterfront, along with thousands of other Stockholmers, and watched the bridge's arrival.

Any place with a view was filled with people watching the bridge arrive.

While this might not be much of a tourist "attraction", I thought it might be interesting for visitors to know the back-story when you see the construction site at Slussen or, after August this year, to know the story of the bridge you are crossing. When it is all completed, there will be boutiques and restaurants along the water, under the bridge, and lit up at night. Click here to see what the bridge will look like when all is complete. They currently have a live camera up and you can watch the bridge being installed (not sure if it can be seen outside of Sweden).

A model of what the bridge and water locks will look like.