NORWEGIAN SUB SEA TUNNELS

This article describes the sub sea tunnels of Norway. Norwegians are proficient tunnelers, with a great deal of underground infrastructure: 170 hydropower stations, 3,000 km of tunnels, 750 railway tunnels, 900 road tunnels and 6 million cubic meters of storage caverns. Its need for tunnels stems from two factors: winter conditions and rockfalls continually threaten the usability of the existing road network, and many of the country's fjords and straits are too wide or too deep to be crossed by bridges. The first undersea tunnel was completed in 1976 as a petroleum pipeline. Seven more have been built to bring oil ashore from the North Sea Gas Fields. The firs undersea road tunnel opened in 1982. Since then 22 more have been added. To keep costs down, three design criteria are prominent: maximum allowable gradient, minimum required rock cover and rock mass quality. Earlier tunnels had rock cover as low as 20 m., but current regulations require at least 50 m. Most are built at a cost of $5.600 to $9,600 per meter. Financing is 40% tolls and 60% government funding. Payback is usually 15 years and financed by raising ferry prices before construction starts. Operation and maintenance are typically about 1% of the initial investment, or $56 to $112 per meter. Two projects planned for the future will extend the limits of sub sea tunneling, a 7.8-km tunnel that will connect four islands with the mainland and a 24-km tunnel to replace ferries on the Coastal Highway E39 between Stavanger and Haugesund.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/0041414X
• Corporate Authors:

  Polygon Media Limited

  Tubs Hill House, London Road
  Sevenoaks, Kent TN13 1BY,   United Kingdom 
• Authors:
  • Bergh-Christensen, J
  • Knudsmoen, M
• Publication Date: 2003-3

Language

• English

Media Info

• Features: Figures; Photos; References;
• Pagination: p. 41-43
• Serial:
  • Tunnels & Tunnelling International
  • Volume: 35
  • Issue Number: 3
  • Publisher: Progressive Media Markets, Ltd
  • ISSN: 0041-414X

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Cost effectiveness; Excavation and tunneling; Government funding; Tunnel lining; Underwater tunnels; Vehicular tunnels
• Geographic Terms: Norway
• Subject Areas: Bridges and other structures; Finance; Highways;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00941520
• Record Type: Publication
• Source Agency: UC Berkeley Transportation Library
• Files: BTRIS, TRIS
• Created Date: May 1 2003 12:00AM