Skip to main content

Norway mega-project contract for Fugro

The largest road project in Norway’s history has seen Fugro win a second major contract from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA). The work on the E39 Coastal Highway is for the construction of a 1,100km route from Kristiansand in the south to Trondheim in central Norway. This project is expected cost around €34.4 billion (NOK 340 billion).
December 20, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
The new coastal route will improve transport for Norway. E39 Orthomap Courtesy of Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA)
The largest road project in Norway’s history has seen 6202 Fugro win a second major contract from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA). The work on the E39 Coastal Highway is for the construction of a 1,100km route from Kristiansand in the south to Trondheim in central Norway. This project is expected cost around €34.4 billion (NOK 340 billion).

Fugro is set to begin a year-long contract, valued at approximately €7.7 million (NOK 76 million), to carry out seabed investigations in four fjord locations where vast engineering projects are planned. The fjords - Vartdalsfjorden, Sulafjorden, Romsdalsfjorden and Halsafjorden – are in the county of Møre og Romsdal. The work is in addition to a 12-year environmental measurement programme relating to the major route, won by Fugro in 2016.

The geophysical and geotechnical data acquired by Fugro will help inform foundation designs of the bridge and tunnel solutions for the fjord crossings along the coastal route. Above and below sea level tunnels; an end-anchored floating bridge; a submerged floating tube bridge; and multi-span suspension bridge are amongst the innovative solutions being considered by NPRA to provide an improved E39 without ferries (currently seven ferries are used along the route). The new Coastal Highway will be almost 50km shorter and will cut in half the current journey time of around 21 hours.

Fugro’s work is split into two phases. Phase 1 encompasses geophysical mapping of the fjord-crossing areas and two vessels will be used to acquire geophysical and shallow geotechnical data. Survey vessel Fugro Helmert will cover shallow, nearshore areas to acquire multi-channel sparker data. From the second vessel Fugro will acquire detailed geophysical data in the deeper parts of the fjords using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and will also undertake seabed sampling and cone penetration testing.

With a planned start date of August 2018, phase 2 will see Fugro perform geotechnical drilling at selected locations as defined by the geophysical data acquired in the first phase. For deeper geotechnical drilling during phase 2, the high-tech drillship Fugro Synergy will be introduced.

“We started working with NPRA on the E39 Coastal Highway project last summer with a long-term programme to measure wind profiles, ocean waves and current profiles at three fjords,” explained Dag Sigurd Stensholt, Fugro’s business development manager in Norway. “It makes us very proud to add our marine site characterisation services to such a huge and important venture.”

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Amey trials wearable biometric safety technology from Fujitsu
    February 9, 2018
    UK contractor Amey said it has successfully conducted trials of wearable biometric and location device safety technology that could reduce risks to drivers and lone workers. The technology was provided by Fujitsu. It included a collar drowsiness detector and ear clip, measuring changes in blood flow which are indicators of attention loss and an initial sign of fatigue. The small units detect when the body is under stress and help workers raise instant alarms at the touch of a button.
  • Bomag’s president Ralf Junker puts his faith in BIM
    November 8, 2017
    World Highways recently caught up with Ralf Junker, president of BOMAG Group, during the company’s Innovation Days at its headquarters in Germany. David Arminas reports. Ralf Junker hasn’t forgotten his roots. You can put as much machine control as you like on a piece of construction equipment but all that high-technology is for nothing if the build quality isn’t there. Junker knows something about build quality. When he started at BOMAG in 1988, he was in the welding shop, eventually becoming supervisor
  • Smarter compaction technology in use in Missouri
    October 2, 2018
    Intelligent compaction and infrared scanning technologies have been used to improve construction quality The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) carried out a year-long project throughout 2017 to demonstrate the use of intelligent compaction (IC), infrared scanning (IR), and Veta software to improve pavement construction operations. “We were looking for ways to assess quality in asphalt projects,” said Bill Stone, research administrator at MoDOT. “We are working towards better pavements that l
  • Volvo CE’s electric quarry operation commences trials
    August 29, 2018
    Volvo CE is commencing operations of its low emission quarrying operation in Sweden. The facility has a strong focus on electric machines, with diesel-electric hybrid equipment also being used. According to the firm, this is a world first for a quarry facility that can be run almost 'emission-free'. Volvo CE and its customer Skanska have now commenced testing the viability of the Electric Site concept at Skanska’s Vikan Kross quarry, located near Gothenburg in Sweden. The production system at the site