By Ashley Karen
A Metrostav Norway and Bertelsen & Garpestad consortium have received the main contract for a section of the E8 highway between Norway and Finland (Sørbotn and Laukslett).
The scheme comprises 10km of new road, an 870m-long bridge across the Ram Fjord, plus several smaller bridges. The building is anticipated to begin at the beginning of next year and finish in July 2026.
The bid of the Metrostav Norway consortium was selected over those from NCC Norway and the consortium of Hæhre and PNC.
The E8 is a 1,410km European path that runs from Tromsø, Norway, to Turku in Finland and contains five tunnels – and is famous for challenging winter conditions.
Tromsø, with a population of just below 80,000, is Norway’s biggest northern city – and 355km north of the Arctic Circle. Turku, a city of 200,000, is located at the mouth of the Aura River in the southwest corner of Finland.
Indre Laukslett and Sørbotn are both villages on the edge of Ram Fjord, with Laukslett being north of Sørbotn and nearly 22km south of Tromsø.
According to Nordisk Tillväxt, a strategic planning and pre-construction consultancy operating across the Nordics, the E8 project between Indre Laukslett and Sørbotn will cost approximately €195 million. Nordisk Tillväxt provides support throughout the pre-qualification, tender and bid processes.
The 10m-wide Sørbotn and Laukslett section of the E8 will have avalanche protection at vital points. However, a reindeer crossing around Sørbotn will be built.
Nevertheless, the Seafill work for bridge pilings has already been tendered.
