Skip to main content

Norway drops planned fixed link between Moss and Horten

Norway’s Road Administration has stopped investigations into a proposed bridge or tunnel spanning 10.5km of the Oslofjord between Moss and Horten, according to Norwegian media. The Ministry of Transport has ordered Veivesendet to cancel consultations amid the government’s growing concern over the cost of any fixed link across the narrows, around 65km south of the capital Oslo. The half-hour car-ferry crossing as part of National Highway 19 will continue as usual. Several thousand people and vehicles m
October 25, 2018 Read time: 2 mins
Detour: Norway cancels a crossing of the Oslofjord, the country’s busiest shipping route and most populated areas.
Norway’s Road Administration has stopped investigations into a proposed bridge or tunnel spanning 10.5km of the Oslofjord between Moss and Horten, according to Norwegian media.


The Ministry of Transport has ordered Veivesendet to cancel consultations amid the government’s growing concern over the cost of any fixed link across the narrows, around 65km south of the capital Oslo.

The half-hour car-ferry crossing as part of National Highway 19 will continue as usual. Several thousand people and vehicles make the journey daily, newspapers reported.

The tolled Moss-Horten Tunnel was to be 17km long and 325m below sea level. It was also to meet 1116 European Union requirements of a maximum 6% gradient.

There is already a road tunnel across the fjord, at Dobrak, a small town of around 14,000 and about 40km south of Oslo. The three-lane 7.3km Oslofjord Tunnel, part of National Highway 23, was opened in 2000. The third lane is used as a climbing lane – for traffic heading uphill and overcoming the 7% gradient. The 11.5m-wide tunnel can handle around 7,500 vehicles daily with a speed limit of 70kph, enforced by speed cameras.

The Oslofjord Tunnel was shut down for three weeks in May last year for major repairs after an extensive truck fire. There were no injuries but around 300m of the tunnel needed repairs.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Norway considers wooden bridge across Lake Mjosa
    May 12, 2017
    Norway could be home to the world’s longest wooden bridge if the government gives the go-ahead for a span across Lake Mjosa. In a new report, researchers conclude that it is possible, both technically and economically, to build a 1.7km wooden bridge between the towns Biri and Moelv. Importantly, the report notes that construction cost differences between a wooden and concrete structure would be little. Estimates for a wooden bridge are around €420 million while for a concrete structure would come in about €
  • Nordøyvegen project wins Norway civils award
    April 6, 2023
    The North Island Road – the English translation - is the largest county road project so far in Norway and opened last year.
  • Norwegians would build new bridge and tunnel links
    June 18, 2021
    Norway’s road transport network is changing radically as the country gears up for greater EV use as well as a gradual phasing out of its traditional ferry links
  • Province halts planned Vancouver bridge to replace Massey Tunnel
    September 14, 2017
    Canada’s province of British Columbia has stopped procurement for a proposed 10-lane US$2.8 billion bridge to replace the ageing George Massey Tunnel near Vancouver. Local media said the province would pay $1.65 million to two of the three shortlisted consortia which had already submitted bids for what is officially called the George Massey Tunnel Replacement project.