By Ashley Karen
Tunneling work has begun on a 9.7km road tunnel that will enhance accessibility between different regions in northern Norway.
The Fiskefjord Tunnel is part of northern Norway’s primary E10/rv 85 road project that will make better transport connections between Vesterålen Harstad/Narvik Airport, Lofoten, and the E6. It incorporates the construction and operation of 82km of new and upgraded road, with seven new tunnels and 22 bridges. It is the northern region’s most extensive transport project.
Statens vegvesen, the Norwegian road authority, granted the contract for the road project construction to a Skanska-led consortium in April 2023.
Statens vegvesen is procuring the project as a public-private partnership (PPP). The new road is measured to cost £680M (NOK9.2bn), although the Norwegian government has claimed that it wants to put aside up to NOK18.3bn (£1.35bn) for the complete PPP contract.
Earlier in October, Statens vegvesen revealed that blasting activities had begun on the Fiskefjord Tunnel a couple of weeks earlier than envisioned. Tom Eriksen, Statens vegvesen project manager, commented on the milestone: “It is always reassuring when the contractors are ahead of their own schedule.”
The tunnel will operate from Kanstadbotn in Lødingen municipality to Fiskefjorden. Haehre, Skanska’s subcontractor, began blasting activities at Kanstadbotn on 3 October, followed by the blasting activities at Fiskefjorden a week after.
Are Eliassen, Skanska project director, stated: “I am pleased that we can now say that we are really up and running.” He also expressed that the first tunneling activities marked “the official start of a very important part of the project”.
Eliassen continued: “We are happy that we can stand here with our clients, and not least our partner Haehre, and that we can start earlier than we had expected. This bodes well for the project going forward.”
Statens vegvesen declared that Skanska Norway is responsible for construction, operation, and maintenance, which will help to deliver a better and cheaper road.
When the new road finally opens, it will be partially financed by tolls. The state declared that it will contribute £369M (NOK5bn) in the first six years from 2022 to 2027.
The E10/rv 85 road project is envisioned to take about five and a half years to build and will be finished in late 2028. Hence, schedules are underway for a considerable and complicated subsea road tunnel plan between the municipalities of Bokn and Randaberg in Rogaland County.
The E39 Rogfast project – or Boknafjord tunnel – is anticipated to be the world’s deepest and longest subsea road tunnel, with a total length of 26.7km and a maximum depth of 392m below sea level.
In January of this year, one of three pivotal contracts on the scheme was awarded to the joint venture between Implenia and Stangeland Maskin by Statens vegvesen. In addition, Skanska has received a NOK5bn (£415M) contract to work on the northern part of the Boknafjord tunnel in December 2022.
