Drilling work for Norway’s Fiskefjord tunnel has been completed, around six months ahead of schedule. The 9.7km tunnel will link Kanstadbotn in Lødingen municipality with Fiskefjorden in Tjeldsund municipality.
The work forms part of the OPS Hålogalandsvegen project for the E10 route, which is being carried out under the PPP model and has been carried out jointly by Skanska Norge and Hæhre. The client for the project is the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Statens Vegvesen and this is due for completion in 2028.
The project E10/rv 85 runs from Tjeldsund through to Gullesfjordbotn and ends at Langvassbukt. The development will increase traffic safety and improve accessibility between Harstad, Evenes, Lødingen and Sortland, providing an important new link for Northern Norway.
The work includes building includes 82km of road, of which 27km are in seven tunnels, with the Fiskefjord tunnel being the longest. Drilling and blasting techniques are being used as the alignment features competent rock.
The E10 is an important road westward to Lofoten and Vesterålen from the main E6 road. The PPP project will upgrade the road standards and shorten the E10 from Tjeldsund Bridge to Gullesfjordbotn by around 30km to cut the travel time on the entire section by 39 minutes. E10 is designed to strengthen the links between Lofoten, Vesterålen Harstad/Narvik Airport and the E6, supporting the integration of the wider region.
