Norway builds longest and deepest underwater road tunnel

#NordicNews on destinations and Norway

The Boknafjord Tunnel in Norway will be the longest and deepest underwater road tunnel in the world

The Boknafjord Tunnel between the municipalities of Randaberg and Bokn in Rogaland County, Norway will be 27 kilometres long. With a maximum depth of 392 metres below sea level, the tunnel will be the longest and deepest underwater road tunnel in the world.

The contract for the E39 project was awarded to the construction company Skanska. The project is divided into sections and the contract signed by Skanska is called E04 Boknafjord Tunnel North. Skanska will build the northern section of the Boknafjord Tunnel. The contract is worth approximately NOK 5 billion.

Construction is expected to start in the first quarter of 2023 and be completed in the third quarter of 2029.

The tunnel is part of the project to renew the E39 from Kristiansand in the south to Trondheim in the north. The road passes through the cities of Stavanger, Stord, Bergen, Førde, Ålesund and Molde. The total travel time today is about 21 hours, including seven ferry connections. The goal is to create an improved and possibly ferry-free E39 that will cut the travel time in half. The route will be almost 50 kilometres shorter. The Norwegian Road Administration hopes to achieve the travel time by replacing ferries with fixed connections or more frequent ferry departures, and by improving the roads between the fjords along the route.

More on the underwater road tunnel at Boknafjord in Norway.

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