Laerdal Tunnel is the world’s longest road tunnel which stretches 24.5 kilometres between Aurland and Laerdal on the new main highway connecting Oslo and Bergen. It is one important part of the extension of a ferry-free, reliable road link between the two largest cities in Norway.
This tunnel carries two links of European Route E16. The construction started in 1995 and the tunnel opened in 2000. The total cost of this project was 1.082 billion Norwegian krone which is equivalent to $113.1 Million USD.
Fast Facts: –
- The Laerdal Tunnel is longitudinally ventilated through only one ventilation air exhaust shaft, 18km from the Aurland end of the tunnel.
- A total of 15 turning areas have been constructed for buses and semi-trailers.
- In the tunnel every 6 km the area is widened and these rock chambers are fitted with special lighting.
- On an average, approximately 1,000 vehicles cross the tunnel in one single day.
- A total of 2.5 million cubic meters of rock has been removed from the entire tunnel during construction.
- The excavated rock has been used for various municipal purposes, to build part of the new highway between Flam and Aurland, and for a unique pedestrian etc.
- There are emergency phone channels for police, fire departments and hospitals in the tunnel.
- The tunnel has been divided into four sections by creating three large caverns, 6 kilometres from each end.
