Tunnels and Bridges1

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BRIDGES

This is a recentpictures of the Eastpart of the Great BeltBridge, the suspension

bridge, taken in lateApril 2006.


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The Great Belt bridgeis actually two bridges

- an Eastern and aWestern section, splitby the island Sprog.It's usually the Eastern

one you see picturesof, as the Western oneis a rather dull lookinganonymous bridge,much like younormally find eg.across a valley - only agreat deal longer.


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TUNNELS

It was a privilege to be present when theKing of Norway cut the ribbon for theopening of the worlds longest road

tunnel between Lrdal and Aurland on

November 27, 2000. Several thousandpersons attended this historic event inbeautiful fall weather. Prior to theribbon-cutting ceremony, the musicianKarl Seglem played his own especiallycomposed music on a bukkehorn, or

rams horn, to entice the trolls(children from rdal, Lrdal and Flaam,dressed in red, green and yellow outfitswith tails) out of the mountain to saluteHis Majesty. King Harald and hisentourage were the first to pass through

the tunnel, and they were met inAurland and Flaam by cheering crowdscarrying Norwegian flags. Lunch wasserved at the new Fretheim Hotel.


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The Lrdal Tunnel was built during a five-year period from 1995-2000 at a cost ofapproximately 125 million U.S. dollars. It is an important link in the ferry-free road

connection between the Bergen area and Eastern Norway, including Oslo, and is especiallysignificant for winter traffic, when the high mountain passes are closed, or subject to

closing, because of snow. The mountains above the tunnel reach elevations up to 1809

meters (5935 feet), and the breathtaking high-mountain road between Aurland and Lrdal,the so-called Snow Road, is open only for a few months during the summer. This tunnel isnot only the worlds longest, 24.5 km ( 15.2 miles), but also the worlds most uniquely

constructed tunnel with exceptional security features. (The worlds second longest, the St.

Gottard Tunnel in Switzerland, is only 16.92 km, or 10 miles). An access tunnel of 2.1 km(1.3 miles) was built from a side valley, Tynjadalen (Tnjum Valley), 6 km (3.72 miles) from

the Lrdal side. This enabled the crews to drill from four sites, which shortened theconstruction time. This access tunnel also serves as an extraction tunnel for the ventilation

system, and made it possible to deposit the excavated rock on the Lrdal side in anenvironmentally secure area.

High air quality in the tunnel is achieved in two ways, by ventilation and purification. Largefans draw air in from both entrances, and polluted air is expelled through the ventilation

tunnel to Tynjadalen. The Lrdal Tunnel is the first in the world to be equipped with an airtreatment plant, located in a 100-meter (328 feet) cavern 9.5 km (5.9 miles) from Aurland,

that removes both dust and nitrogen dioxide from the tunnel air. Two large fans draw airthrough the treatment plant, where dust and soot are removed by an electrostatic filter.Then the air is drawn through a large carbon filter which removes the nitrogen dioxide.

To support and strengthen the ceiling and the walls of the tunnel, 200,000 steel bolts of up

to 5 meters (16 feet) in length have been used, and 35,000 square meters (42,000 squareards of concrete has been oured!


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The new tunnel is of great importance to Aurland, not only for its connection eastward, but also forgreatly improved contact to its own district, especially Lrdal, rdal, Sogndal, Luster, Leikanger and

Balestrand, as well as Sunnfjord and Nordfjord. Inner Sogn, previously isolated by high mountains, hassuddenly become the navel (navle: central point) of Norway, to quote the newspaper Bergens Tidende.

In order to break the monotony of a 20-minute drive, the tunnel has been divided up into four sectionsby creating three large caverns, or mountain halls, 6 km (3.7 miles) from each end and one in themiddle. Special attention has been paid to the lighting. Whereas white light is used in the tunnel itself,

the mountain halls are equipped with blue and yellow light. This gives one the illusion of driving intodaylight every 6 km (3.7 miles), and the golden light along the floor gives the illusion of sunrise! To

keep the drivers from being inattentive or falling asleep, and thus causing head-on collisions, each laneis supplied with a loud rumble strip toward the center!

Thousands of tourists drive through the tunnel for the unique experience. A romantic ambiance haseven been suggested when a couple decided to get married in one of the mountain halls ! A group ofwomen from rdal, Lrdal and Aurland, calling themselves jenteslepp gals night out, have had an

organizational meeting in the tunnel!

The following are some of the exceptional security measures taken in case of accidents and/or fire:

- Emergency phones marked SOS have been placed every 250 meters (820 feet)

- Fire extinguishers have been placed every 125 meters (410 feet), which is closer than in other tunnels- Stop lights and signs reading: snu og kyr ut, turn and drive out, go on when one of the emergency

phones is used


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- 15 turning areas have been constructed for buses and semi-trailers- In addition to the three mountain halls, emergency niches have been built every 500meters (1640 feet)- Emergency phone channels for police, fire departments and hospitals

- Data connections to night-watch and security centers in Lrdal and Bergen- Special wiring for the use of radio and mobile phones- Photo inspection and counting of all vehicles entering and exiting the tunnel

A total of 2.5 million cubic meters (3.27 million cubic yards) of rock has been removedfrom the entire tunnel. On the Aurland side, the excavated rock has been used forvarious municipal purposes, to build part of the new highway between Flm andAurland , and for a unique pedestrian and bicycle path along the Aurland Fjord fromFlm to Otternes. In order to gain the necessary width for the path, large quantities ofrocks were dumped in the fjord. With landscaping, blacktopping, and wooden railings,this is probably the most exquisite and expensive path in the world!

The Lrdal Tunnel is rapidly receiving world attention. Early in December, TimeMagazine, with world-wide circulation, carried an excellent photo and text. TheAurland/Lrdal Tourist Office has received numerous inquiries from the United States,

South America and Japan, and other countries. They were amused, however, when alady from Minneapolis sent them a letter thinking that the new tunnel was beingconstructed from Oslo to Bergen, a distance of 287 miles! She expressed the hope thatone could still get out at Myrdal to visit the Flm Valley, Aurland and Voss!


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