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

  • Black sea countries complete preparations for implementation of Black Sea Ring project
    August 23, 2016
    The Black Sea Ring Road project will improve transport connections for the region - Eugene Gerden writes. Russia has officially started implementation of a project, known as the Black Sea Ring Road, which involves building a four-lane highway system connecting the countries surrounding the Black Sea. The Black Sea Ring Road is a substantial project, a highway measuring some 7,140km in all. Among the countries participating in the project are Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Greece and
    Read More
  • Slovakia tunnel excavation complete
    September 21, 2018
    Excavation work on Slovakia’s Visnove Tunnel has now been completed. Driving the tunnel took nine months longer than originally anticipated. The 7.5km tunnel will be Europe’s seventh longest when complete and forms part of the D1 highway between Dubna Skala and Lietavska. Work on this highway started in 2014, with the construction being carried out jointly by Italian contractor Salini Impregilo and local firm Duha. Fitting out of the tunnel is now commencing, with equipment such as ventilation and traffic
    Read More
  • Pavers produce on Chinese road building project
    May 19, 2015
    Volvo tracked pavers are helping China meet its ambitious programme of building 10,000km of roads annually. China’s ambitious road building programme is seeing over 10,000km of new highway being completed every year. Productivity, reliability and good uptime of equipment are key to this programme being achieved. And to the north of Xi’an, four Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) ABG8820 tracked pavers recently worked 14 hours/day paving the final layer of asphalt on a new highway. This 96km route opened
    Read More
  • Sandvik drilling rigs boost production
    July 9, 2012
    The drill and blast contractor Technical Drilling and Blasting in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is standardising on Sandvik rock tools for its fleet of drill rigs. The firm operates across Fujeirah, providing quality gabbro aggregates for construction projects in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Recognised as one of the worlds hardest rocks, gabbro features a typical density in excess of 3tonnes/m, a crushing factor of 10 and a 61% silica content and demand remains strong for this quality construction material. Every
    Read More

Highlighted Content