Bjarkøy Fixed Link

Map of the three islands in the former municipality of Bjarkøy

The Bjarkøy Fixed Link (Norwegian: Bjarkøyforbindelsen) is a proposed fixed link which will connect the three islands of Bjarkøya, Sandsøya, and Grytøya in the municipality of Harstad in Troms county, Norway. Grytøya and Bjarkøya will be connected by a subsea road tunnel and a bridge will connect Grytøya and Sandsøya. The tunnel to Bjarkøya will be 3.25 kilometres (2.02 mi) long. The bridge to Grytøya would be 300 metres (980 ft) long plus a 900-metre (3,000 ft) long causeway. The project also includes 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) of road on Grytøya to connect the existing roads to the new undersea tunnel. The Bjarkøy Tunnel will be part of Norwegian County Road 867, while the Sandsøya Bridge will be part of Norwegian County Road 124.[1]

The former municipality of Bjarkøy had a population of about 500 people. In a referendum in 2002, the residents voted to merge with the much larger municipality of Harstad if the fixed link was built, but since less than two-thirds of the vote approved it, it was not a binding vote. After further discussions, the municipalities were merged on 1 January 2013.[2] The financing of the project is based on financing from tolls, saved subsidies to the ferry operations, the saving of NOK 100 million needed to build new ferry quays if the ferry service continues, money saved through the municipal merger and grants from Troms County Municipality. The total cost is estimated at NOK 710 million and the tentative completion date is 2016.[3]

Construction

Construction began in late 2014, and as of October 2015 the Bjarkøy tunnel bore reached 1000m from Grytøya.[4]

References

  1. ↑ "Fv. 867 / Fv. 124 Bjarkøyforbindelsene" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Public Roads Administration. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  2. ↑ "Ugyldig folkeavstemning i Bjarkøy". Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (in Norwegian). 7 September 2002. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  3. ↑ Arvola, Øivind (28 April 2011). "Angriper Bjarkøyforbindelsen". Harstad Tidende (in Norwegian). Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  4. ↑ Inge Bjørn Hansen (13 October 2015). "Tunnelen er 1000 meter på veg" (in Norwegian). Hålogaland Avis. Retrieved 22 January 2016.

Coordinates: 68°58′29″N 16°34′34″E / 68.97472°N 16.57611°E / 68.97472; 16.57611

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