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The Bjarkøy Fixed Link (Norwegian: Bjarkøyforbindelsen) is a fixed link which connects the three islands of Bjarkøya, Sandsøya, and Grytøya in Harstad Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The fixed link was completed in late 2018. A subsea road tunnel (Norwegian: Kvernsundtunnelen) connects the islands of Grytøya and Bjarkøya, and a bridge connects the islands of Grytøya and Sandsøya. The tunnel to Bjarkøya is 3.25 kilometres (2.02 mi) long. The bridge to Grytøya is 300 metres (980 ft) long plus a 900-metre (3,000 ft) long causeway. The project also included 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) of new road on Grytøya to connect the existing roads to the new undersea tunnel. The Bjarkøy Tunnel is designated as part of Norwegian County Road 867, while the Sandsøya Bridge is part of Norwegian County Road 124.

History

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 neighboring Harstad Municipality 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. The financing of the project is based on financing from tolls, saved subsidies to the ferry operations, the savings of 100 million kr needed to build new ferry quays if the ferry service had continued, money saved through the municipal merger, and grants from Troms County Municipality. The total cost was then estimated at 710 million kr with a tentative completion date of 2016.

Construction

Construction began in late 2014, and as of October 2015 the Bjarkøy tunnel bore reached 1,000 metres (3,300 ft) from Grytøya. In July 2016, weaknesses in the sea floor rock which threatened the flooding of the tunnel led to the reporting of an increased cost projection in excess of 962 million kr. In July 2017, asphalting of the road surface inside the tunnel commenced with the projected completion date revised to autumn 2018. The tunnel was formally opened on 15 December 2018 at a final cost of 1150 million kr.

References

1. "Fv. 867 / Fv. 124 Bjarkøyforbindelsene" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Public Roads Administration. Archived from the original on 22 March 2017. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
2. "Ugyldig folkeavstemning i Bjarkøy". Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (in Norwegian). 7 September 2002. Archived from the original on 8 July 2012. 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. Archived from the original on 29 January 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2016.
5. Pedersen, Linda (5 July 2016). "Bjarkøyforbindelsen blir mange millioner dyrere enn planlagt" (in Norwegian). Norsk Rikskringkasting AS. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
6. "Har startet asfalteringsarbeid i Kvernsuntunnelen" (in Norwegian). Statens vegvesen. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2017.
7. "Åpnet Bjarkøyforbindelsene". ByggFakta (in Norwegian). Byggfakta DOCU. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 4 July 2020.

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

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