Iceland has opened its longest tunnel, the Norðfjarðargöng tunnel on Route 92

Iceland has opened its longest tunnel, a 7.9km structure between Neskaupstaður and Eskifjörður, to replace a mountain road often closed during winter storms. Construction of the Norðfjarðargöng tunnel on Route 92 in eastern Iceland started in 2013 and has cost just over €118 million. Tunneling, done using the traditional Nordic drill and blast method, was finished in 2015. The the two-lane Norðfjarðargöng tunnel replaces a smaller tunnel, the 640m Oddsskarðsgöng tunnel, a single-lane structure where cars
November 14, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Iceland’s longest tunnel, the Norðfjarðargöng tunnel at nearly 8km long: Nordic drill and blast work before opening (photo Metrostav)

Iceland has opened its longest tunnel, a 7.9km structure between Neskaupstaður and Eskifjörður, to replace a mountain road often closed during winter storms.

Construction of the Norðfjarðargöng tunnel on Route 92 in eastern Iceland started in 2013 and has cost just over €118 million. Tunneling, done using the traditional Nordic drill and blast method, was finished in 2015.

The the two-lane Norðfjarðargöng tunnel replaces a smaller tunnel, the 640m Oddsskarðsgöng tunnel, a single-lane structure where cars had to pull over at designated stretches to allow oncoming vehicles to pass.

The contractor is a consortium of the Czech-based Metrostav Group and local company Suðurverk. The client is the Icelandic government agency Vegagerðin, the Road and Coastal Administration.

Metrostav has worked in the area before, completing the Siglufjörður and Ólafsfjörður tunnels with a total length of nearly 11km.

Road Structures

Related Content

  • Sri Lanka's new highway - on track
    February 14, 2012
    Work is progressing on-track on Sri Lanka's Southern Expressway project. This will be the country's first expressway and is expected to be completed by 2012, removing the bulk of traffic from the existing coastal road that is highly congested and also has serious safety issues.
    Read More
  • Spray paving with Vӧgele and Dynapac
    March 8, 2023
    Applying emulsion and carrying out asphalt paving in a single operation can boost efficiency and save much money.
    Read More
  • Upgrading a busy A road link in the UK
    July 4, 2018
    The upgrade to the UK’s busy A14 route will address a significant traffic bottleneck - Mike Woof writes The UK is suffering badly from traffic congestion, a problem that is particularly severe in and around its major cities. Lack of investment in road construction over many years has resulted in a major backlog of work, while the country has seen growing vehicle numbers. To make matters worse, there have been few additions to the major road network since the late 1980s and early 1990s. And the combinatio
    Read More
  • Cold recycling helps rebuild of Brazil’s Ayrton Senna highway
    September 28, 2015
    Brazil’s Ayrton Senna Highway has been rebuilt using cold recycling. Brazil’s SP-070 is also known as the Ayrton Senna Highway and is a major highway in the country, carrying heavy traffic volumes. For its rebuild, the time-saving, cost-efficient and eco-friendly benefits of the cold recycling process have been put to the test. The SP-070 provides a key transport link between São Paulo and Campos do Jordão, Vale do Paraíba and Rio de Janeiro, as well as being the main access route to Guarulhos Interna
    Read More

Highlighted Content