New Norwegian bridge open to traffic

A new bridge is now open to traffic in Norway. The Hålogaland Bridge has a total length of 1,533m and a main span of 1,145m and is Norway's second longest suspension bridge. The structure was designed by COWI and crosses the deep waters of Rombaksfjorden in northern Norway. The bridge will improve road safety, as well as reducing the distance between Narvik and Bjerkvik by 18km. The pre-existing route around Rombaksfjorden is frequently exposed to landslides and the opening of the bridge shortens travel tim
December 11, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
COWI and Dissing+Weitling are both proud of the design work they put into the aesthetic new Hålogaland Bridge in northern Norway

A new bridge is now open to traffic in Norway. The Hålogaland Bridge has a total length of 1,533m and a main span of 1,145m and is Norway's second longest suspension bridge. The structure was designed by 8721 COWI and crosses the deep waters of Rombaksfjorden in northern Norway. The bridge will improve road safety, as well as reducing the distance between Narvik and Bjerkvik by 18km. The pre-existing route around Rombaksfjorden is frequently exposed to landslides and the opening of the bridge shortens travel time between Narvik and the airport of Evenes by 20 minutes.

As the project engineer, long-span bridge specialist COWI provided the basic and detailed design for the bridge. The architect for the project was Dissing+Weitling architecture.

Located inside the Arctic Circle, the bridge features two 179m A-shaped towers. Poul Ove Jensen, director of Bridges at Dissing+Weitling, commented: “The bridge is located in a dramatic and magnificent scenery and for this reason, it has been our goal to design the bridge in respect of the natural surroundings. The anchor blocks are recessed in the hills and the only visible parts are the large concrete cones that receives the cable. Even the colours for the bridge are in harmony with the landscape's colours.”

COWI chief project manager Erik Sundet commented: “Opportunities to work on projects like this come very rarely for an engineer – and when they do, they block your calendar for so many years that you do not have time for many other projects on the same scale."

have collaborated on several projects including the Stonecutters Bridge in Hong Kong and Denmark’s Great Belt Link. They also worked together on the concept design of the Bjørnafjord Bridge, a multispan floating bridge which plans to use technology from the offshore industry to cross another deep – and wide – Norwegian fjord, the Bjørnafjorden.

Road Structures

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Rapid replacement of multiple bridges – the plan
    December 14, 2017
    The US State of Pennsylvania is saving itself $220 million over 10 years on a programme to replace 558 bridges with an unusual public private partnership approach - Kristina Smith writes It is called the Rapid Bridge Replacement Programme with good reason. Pennsylvania’s Department of Transport, PennDOT, wants to see no less than 558 structurally deficient bridges replaced with newly designed and constructed ones, all within four years. Using traditional forms of procurement this programme would be like
    Read More
  • Companies line up for Norway’s Rogfast project at Kvitsøy
    November 27, 2018
    Five companies have expressed an interest in the technically challenging €315 million Kvitsøy section of Norway’s major road and tunnel project Rogfast.
    Read More
  • Norway mulls new routes across the vast Hardangervidda plateau
    November 2, 2015
    Norway is considering proposals for another route across over the vast Hardangervidda, one of Europe’s largest plateaux and most of which is a national park. The Norwegian Road Administration (Statens Vegvesen) said one proposal would incorporate a 6km tunnel at a cost more than €216 million, according to a report the Nationen newspaper.
    Read More
  • Via Nordica turns international
    July 31, 2012
    Via Nordica, the road technology conference of the five Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) has changed from the traditional Nordic event to become more international The conference, held every four years, rotates between the five countries, and the 2008 event, held in Helsinki, the Finnish capital, was a clear demonstration of the international trend. An accompanying exhibition attracted more than 70 companies and organisations from 14 countries. Pär-Håkan Appel, the secretary g
    Read More

Highlighted Content