Lofast
The road Lofast (Norwegian: Lofotens fastlandsforbindelse ) is part of the European route 10 and connects the group of islands of Lofoten with the Norwegian continent. Thanks to the construction of tunnels and bridges , this connection works entirely without ferries . The stretch from Fiskebøl on Austvågøya to Gullesfjord on Hinnøya , where Lofast meets the existing Sortland - Narvik road , is 51 km long and has two lanes throughout.
In 1989 the Storting decided to build the Lofast. Construction began in 1993, after discussions about the route (among other things, an 8 km long tunnel under the Hadselfjord between Melbu and Fiskebøl was discussed ). On December 19, 1997, the first section of the road from Fiskebol to Myrland was opened to traffic, followed on October 15, 1998 by the Raftsundbrua , the bridge over the famous Raftsund that separates the Lofoten from the Vesterålen archipelago . After an interruption of work until 2003, the entire connection was opened by Queen Sonja on December 1, 2007 . Since then, it has shortened the distance from Svolvær , the capital of Lofoten, to Narvik from 272 to 238 km. The Lofoten are thus continuously integrated into the Norwegian road network without ferry connections to Å i Lofoten on the island of Moskenesøy in the west.
Bridges and tunnels
Numerous bridges and tunnels were built for the Lofast, almost 30% of the route is underground or submarine. The main bridges and tunnels of the Lofast are (from west to east):
- Sea tunnel: Sløverfjord tunnel (length 3340 m) under the Sløverfjord between the islands of Årnøya and Holdøy - 112 meters below sea level
- Tunnel: Falkfjord tunnel (396 m)
- Tunnel: Myrland tunnel (1910 m)
- Bridge: Raftsundbrua (711 m)
- Tunnel: Raftsund tunnel (1570 m)
- Tunnel: Storåtunnelen (210 m)
- Tunnel: Ingelsfjord tunnel (1310 m)
- Bridge: Vesterstraumen bru (305 m)
- Bridge: Austerstraumen bru (196 m)
- Tunnel: Sørdalstunnelen (6338 m)
Web links
- Overview - information from the road authorities