Major roadworks snarl Copenhagen traffic as Øresund motorway expansion begins

Traffic ground to a halt across Amager on Tuesday as construction crews began widening the Øresund motorway, leaving drivers stranded in hours-long jams during the evening rush, Danish broadcaster DR reports.

The congestion stretched beyond the motorway itself, with alternative routes collapsing under the weight of diverted traffic. Jens Villemoes, press chief for Sund & Bælt—the state-owned operator overseeing the project—cited a combination of factors: the first post-holiday workday, an earlier accident, and overlapping roadworks across the island.

“This is likely why we saw such severe gridlock,” Villemoes said. “There were far more cars on the roads than usual.”

The expansion, which will add a third lane to the motorway to ease the chronic bottleneck, is now underway. Crews are attempting to schedule work to minimize disruption, but Villemoes acknowledged few immediate solutions exist beyond the long-term fix. “We’re widening the road from two to three lanes—that’s what we’re doing,” he said.

For now, Sund & Bælt’s advice to drivers is blunt: avoid the stretch during peak commuting hours where possible.