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

  • Serbia’s pan-European Corridor X is in the slow lane
    October 23, 2017
    It’s been slow progress on Serbia’s Corridor X project. Gordon Feller reports. Back in the early 2000’s, the European Union undertook an ambitious programme to link the main cities of its south-eastern region. This involved connecting five key seaports – the Greek cities of Patras, Igoumenitsa, Piraeus and Thessaloniki as well as Romania’s Black Sea city of Constanta. Initially the plan involved two motorways across Greece. The first was a new 780km route including a branch to Ormenio on Greece’s north-eas
    Read More
  • Solving congestion in Brisbane
    August 2, 2012
    Rapid growth in a major Australian city in recent years has created new problems for the infrastructure and especially transport Expansion in the city of Brisbane, the Queensland state capital and the third largest city in the country, is set to continue and some 1,500 people arrive/week from within Australia and from other parts of the world. At this rate by 2026 the city's population should increase by 1.4 million: at present it is 1.8 million. To cope, the Queensland government and city council have ini
    Read More
  • George Massey Tunnel Replacement gets environmental approval
    February 13, 2017
    The Canadian province of British Columbia has given environmental approval for a 10-lane US$2.8 billion bridge to replace the ageing George Massey Tunnel near Vancouver. However, approval for the 3km cable stay bridge over the Fraser River comes with 33 conditions, according to Canadian media. Construction of the toll bridge will also mean replacing the interchanges of Westminster Highway, Steveston Highway and Highway 17A.
    Read More
  • Tunnel waterproofing solutions
    February 29, 2012
    Tunnels are the highest value assets on a highway, making their operation, safety and maintenance of paramount importance. Patrick Smith reports
    Read More

Highlighted Content