Bomla Fjord Tunnel, Rogaland, Norway
The Bømlafjord Tunnel is a subsea road tunnel under Bømlafjorden which connects the island of Føyno in Stord to the mainland at Dalshovda in Sveio, Norway. The tunnel is 7.82 kilometers long and reaches 260.4 m below mean sea level. It carries three lanes of European Road E39 and is part of the Triangle Link, a fixed link which connects Sunnhordland to Haugaland. Plans for the tunnel arose in the 1980s; construction started in 1997 and the tunnel opened on 27 December 2000. The tunnel was built using the drilling and blasting method, with two teams building from each end.
The tunnel runs through an area composed mostly of gneiss, phyllite and greenstone. The tunnel is the longest subsea tunnel in Norway and was the second-deepest in the world until 2008. It is still the deepest point on the E-road network. The tunnel was a toll road from the opening until 30 April 2013. In 2012 the tunnel had an average 4,084 vehicles per day.
Epic Norway Culture & Adventure Route © Monika Newbound