By Ashley Karen
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens Vegvesen) has granted a €12.67 million contract to HAB Construction for renovating the E18 tunnels southwest of Oslo.
As the agency declared, many of the city’s tunnels have been boosted over the past several years. Work will begin this summer on the Sjølystlokket and Bygdøylokket tunnels on European Route 18.
HAB Construction was selected over the contractor Isachsen Anlegg for the work, including flood protection. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration project manager, Elin Hermanstad Havik, stated that HAB and Statens Vegvesen will now enter into a discussion for details of the work.
Both of the current tunnels are cut-and-cover construction. The 167m-long Sjølystlokkett was opened in its present form in 2003, and Bygdøylokket was constructed in 1959 and reconstructed in 2001.
The work contains boosting the culvert to Hoffselva beneath the Sjølystlokkett, upgrading the stormwater system, renewal of gutters and drains, replacement of lighting, and implementing traffic safety measures in the daytime zone.
The 1,890km European Route E18 operates from Craigavon in Northern Ireland to Saint Petersburg in Russia, crossing Norway, England, Scotland, Sweden and Finland. Norway has approximately 415km of the E18, of which 190km is motorway.
