The tunnels along E6 in Sørfold do not meet current highway standards. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Largest road project in northern Norway gets green light
Possible the worst part of European route E6 linking the north and south of Norway, with several long, dark and narrow tunnels, gets 9,6 billion kroner (€937 million) for upgrades and new shortcuts across fjords and through mountains.
March 04, 2021
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The government has decided to give priority to E6 through Sørfold north of Fauske. The road has for decades been a bottleneck for everyone driving northern Norway.
NRK Nordland was first to report about the government’s green light to the project.
There are 16 tunnels on today’s E6 in Sørfold. Several of them are many kilometers long, have bad lightening, and are so narrow that two trucks can hardly bypass.
Part of the existing road will be upgraded, while other distances will be with totally new routings, including two new bridges over fjords and 10 new tunnels, the plans by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration show. Over Leirfjorden, a 820 meters long suspension bridge will shortcut the distance substantially (see video below).
In total, the new road will be 11 kilometers shorter than the existing, reducing the driving time by about 25 minutes. The new road will be better, safer and built for a speed-limit of 90 km/h.
Construction time will be 4 to 6 years.
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