Norway’s E10 project is officially underway

Hålogalandsvegen/Skanska will finance, build, maintain and operate a section of the E10 Hålogalandsvegen and Highway 85 Tjeldsund–Gullesfjordbotn–Langvassbukt north of the Arctic Circle.
By David Arminas August 7, 2023 Read time: 2 mins
Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård at the controls of an excavator, helped by a Skanska employee, on site of the E10 Tjeldsund-Gullesfjordbotn-Langvassbukt road project (image courtesy Erik Betten/State Road Administration)

Construction of Norway’s largest transport project, the E10 Tjeldsund-Gullesfjordbotn-Langvassbukt road, officially got underway this month, according to Statens vegvesen, the country’s national road agency.

Near Fiskefjord in the Tjeldsund municipality, transport minister Jon-Ivar Nygård took the controls of an excavator in a ceremonial start to the project that is part of European Route E10. But actual construction had started in March 2023 through early works agreements and is scheduled to be fully completed in December 2028. Also at the ceremony was says Stein Ivar Hellestad, chief executive of Skanska Norge.

The E10 is an important road westward to Lofoten and Vesterålen from the main E6 road. The PPP project will upgrade the road standards and shorten the E10 from Tjeldsund Bridge to Gullesfjordbotn by around 30km to cut the travel time on the entire section by 39 minutes. E10 is designed to strengthen the links between Lofoten, Vesterålen Harstad/Narvik Airport and the E6, supporting the integration of the wider region.

Skanska Norge, through the company’s special purpose company Hålogalandsvegen, and its subcontractors, will maintain and operate the road until November 2043, after which it will be handed over the Statens vegvesen.

Norwegian global consulting engineering and architectural firm Multiconsult, together with Aas-Jakobsen and ViaNova as subconsultants, is the main designer for Skanska. Financial consultancy PwC’s Norway business advised on the appointment of Skanska to build the E10 Tjeldsund-Gullesfjordbotn-Langvassbukt road which will connect the Lofoten Islands to the mainland.

Earlier this year, the Nordic Investment Bank signed agreed a loan to co-finance the 21-year public-private partnership between the Statens vegvesen (Norwegian Public Road Administration) and Hålogalandsvegen. Skanska will finance, build, maintain and operate a section of the E10 Hålogalandsvegen and Highway 85 Tjeldsund–Gullesfjordbotn–Langvassbukt north of the Arctic Circle.

In a statement, the bank noted that the €86 million loan covers construction of 82km of new and upgraded road, seven rock tunnels with a total length of 27km and several bridges with lengths ranging from 20m to 200m. The project will also include pedestrian and cycle routes and general improvements to local public transport facilities, laybys, rest areas and access roads.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Bulgaria plans for operating road infrastructure
    February 21, 2012
    There is a lot of work to do on Bulgarian roads, but the government has plans to increase the length of highways built each year as Krasimir Krastanov reports. Bulgarian roads with a pavement make up 98.4% of all the country's roads, while 92.5% of them have an asphalt surface and 82.8% of them are able to carry 10tonnes/axle.
    Read More
  • How Florida paved the way for availability payments in the US
    November 21, 2014
    New financing models have been used to deliver key transport links in the US - * Patrick D Harder and Brandon J Davis Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) public-private partnership (PPP) programme has made impressive progress, setting precedents for US transportation planning and funding. On March 26th 2014, FDOT opened 16km of new reversible express lanes as part of its US$1.8 billion I-595 Corridor Roadway Improvements Project. Just a few months later, on August 3rd 2014, FDOT opened twin tunnel
    Read More
  • Norway agrees funding for road repairs
    June 29, 2023
    Construction and civil engineering association EBA says the allocated €103 million will go a long way to shoring up road maintenance requirements on national roads.
    Read More
  • Europe closes in on the crossings
    September 27, 2017
    The Mersey Gateway bridge project off England’s west coast passed a milestone recently with the first joining of two of the deck sections. The key segments, as the sections are called, link the north approach viaduct to the north pylon deck span and are the first of four deck-joins scheduled for this summer. In total, there are five sections of bridge deck and approach roads that need to be joined.
    Read More

Highlighted Content