Laerdalstunnelen

NORWAY

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Laerdalstunnelen

In June 1992 the Norwegian Parliament decided that the main trunk road between Bergen and Oslo should be built via Aurland, to Laerdal and over Filefjell. The 24.5 kilo-meter long road tunnel between Aurland and Laerdal will be the final link on the new main highway connecting Oslo and Bergen without ferry connections and difficult mountain crossings during the winter.

In western Norway, narrow winding roads prone to landslides and avalanches have gradually been replaced by modern tunnels and roads.
In the county of Sogn og Fjordane, many long tunnels have been built in order to ensure improved, safer travel. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration is highly skilled in tunnel construction and has considerable experience in the field, and was therefore able to take on a project to plan and construct the world's longest road tunnel. Work on Laerdalstunnelen began on 15 March 1995.

PROJECTFACTS

Project cost

(NOK value in 1998): NOK 976 million

Construction period: 1995-2001

Tunnel length: 24.5km

Access adit/ventilation tunnel: 2.1km

Turning points: 16

Emergency lay-bys: 48

Maximum hourly traffic: 400 vehicles

Average annual daily traffic: 1,000 vehicles

NEW WORLD RECORD

LAERDALSTUNNELEN (Norge/Norway) 24500m

St. Gotthard (Sveits / Switzerland) 16918m

Arlberg (Austerrike / Austria) 13972m

Frejus (Frankrike-Italia / France-Italy) 12901m

Mont Blanc (Frankrike - Italia / France - Italy) 11600m

Gudvanga (Norge / Norway) 11400m

Kan Etsu (Japan) 11090m