[5] It has reduced travel times significantly; previously taking one hour by ferry, the Great Belt can now be crossed in ten minutes.

In 1957, road traffic was moved to the Halsskov–Knudshoved route, about 1.5 kilometres to the north and close to the fixed link.

[7] The first law concerning a fixed link was enacted in 1973,[8] but the project was put on hold in 1978 as the Venstre (Liberal) party demanded postponing public spending.

Political agreement to restart work was reached in 1986, with a construction law (Danish: anlægslov) being passed in 1987.

In 1991, Finland sued Denmark at the International Court of Justice, on the grounds that Finnish-built mobile offshore drilling units would be unable to pass beneath the bridge.

[10] The two countries negotiated a financial compensation of 90 million Danish kroner, and Finland withdrew the lawsuit in 1992.

In order to connect Halsskov on Zealand with Knudshoved on Funen, 18 kilometres (11 mi) to its west, a two-track railway and a four-lane motorway had to be built, via the small island of Sprogø in the middle of the Great Belt.

[15] The work of lifting and placing the elements was carried out by Ballast Nedam using a floating crane.

[18] At 254 metres (833 ft) above sea level, the two pylons of the East Bridge are the highest points on self-supporting structures in Denmark.

To keep the main cables tensioned, an anchorage structure on each side of the span is placed below the road deck.

[19][20][21] Nineteen concrete pillars (12 on the Zealand side, seven by Sprogø), 193 metres (633 ft) apart, carry the road deck outside the span.

[24] Prior to the opening of the link, an average of 8,000 cars used the ferries across the Great Belt every day.

The fixed link has produced considerable savings in travel time between eastern and western Denmark.

Previously, it took approximately 90 minutes on average to cross the Great Belt in a car with transfer by ferry, including the waiting time at the ports.

The journey has been reduced by 60 minutes, and there are many more seats available because more carriages may be added to a train that does not have to fit on a ferry.

Together with the Øresund Bridge, and the two Little Belt bridges, the link provides a direct fixed connection between western Continental Europe and northern Scandinavia, eventually connecting all parts of the European Union except Ireland, Malta, Cyprus, and outlying islands.

The Sweden-to-Germany ferry system is still used to some extent owing to limited rail capacity, with heavy passenger traffic over the bridges and some single track stretches in southern Denmark and northern Germany.

The Great Belt was used by now defunct night passenger trains between Copenhagen and Germany, which were too long to fit on the ferries.

In 2019, the vehicle tolls were:[27] Environmental considerations have been an integral part of the project, and have been of decisive significance for the choice of alignment and determination of the design.

This co-operation issued in a report published at the beginning of 1997 on the state of the environment in the Great Belt.

This has been achieved by deepening parts of the Great Belt, so that the water flow cross section has been increased.

During 2009, seven large wind turbines, likely Vestas 3MWs totalling 21MW capacity, were erected in the sea north of Sprogø to contribute to the electrical demand of the Great Belt Link.

While the link was still under construction on 14 September 1993, the ferry M/F Romsø drifted off course in bad weather and hit the West Bridge.

At 19:17 on 3 March 2005, the 3,500-ton freighter MV Karen Danielsen crashed into the West Bridge 800 metres from Funen.

[34] In 2023, a 57-year-old truck driver was arrested by police after traffic on the bridge was disrupted due to spilled potatoes.