Interest Sought For Norway’s Longest Subsea Tunnel And Suspension Bridge

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) is inviting contractors, subcontractors and the consulting industry to an information meeting about the further construction of the E39 Ålesund-Molde, on Teams on Monday 21 June. The NPRA is dividing the construction of the E39 Ålesund-Molde into several contracts with the Julsundet Bridge and the Romsdalsfjord Tunnel will be the two largest ones.
In addition to the Ålesund-Molde road, a new county road to Gossen will be built across the strait of Kjerringsundet in close cooperation with the Møre og Romsdal County Administration. This will provide a ferry-free crossing of the Romsdalsfjord. At the same time, Otrøya, Midøya and Gossen will be connected to the mainland. The entire stretch of the E39 will be 75km long
The project will contribute to the overall goal of improving the road standard on the E39, and forms part of the long-term upgrading of the E39 that connects the cities along the western coast of Norway. However, the most important goal of the project in Møre og Romsdal is to tie Molde and Ålesund together as one residential and labour market.
The project is divided into five plan sections:

• Breivika/Ålesund-Digernes
• Digernes-Ørskogfjellet
• Ørskogfjellet-Vik
• Vik-Julbøen
• Julbøen-Bolsønes/Molde

Construction start for the Ørskogfjellet-Molde road may take place in 2023, provided that the plans are adopted as required in the municipalities, the county and the Storting. The plan is to start construction in 2023. With allocation of sufficient annual funds, the new European road may be opening in 2030.
The NPRA has planned a contracting strategy with a wide range in the size of the contracts. The smallest will amount to a few tens of millions of kroner for preparatory construction contracts. The Romsdalsfjord Tunnel and Julsund Bridge will be the largest contracts, of around three to four billion NOK.
The NPRA is planning a bridge and tunnel with four lanes. On Julsundet Bridge there will also be a separate lane for pedestrians, cyclists and slow-moving vehicles. On other road sections, the plans include a 4-lane road with a design speed of 110km/h. At the same time, the zoning plans are to facilitate step-by-step construction, with a 2/3-lane road and single tunnel tubes in step 1. The entire road section will have a central crash barrier and lanes for overtaking. The single-tube tunnels are an exception, where a wide central reservation is one of the safety measures.
Vik-Julbøen:

• Subsea tunnel, approx. 14.5km with two tubes.
• Suspension bridge, 2010m, main span – 1625m.
• Open-air road sections with grade-separated junctions and appurtenant structures at Vik, Nautneset (Otrøya) and Julbøen.

Julbøen-Molde:

• Julakslatunnelen, length approx. 1.4km.
• Kringstadnakktunnelen, length approx. 8.5km.
• Open-air road between the tunnels in Mordalen (800m).
• The junction area at Fuglset where the new E39 is connected to the current E39.

Ørskogfjellet-Vik:

• Julakslatunnelen, length approx. 6km.
• Open-air road of approx. 3km at Ørskogfjellet with a “half intersection” to connect the new E39 to the current E39.
• Short open-air road section at Vik.

The Kjerringsund connection:

• Bridge across Kjerringsundet of approx. 800m, main span 540m. This will be constructed as a suspension bridge or cable-stayed bridge.
• Bridge across Bollholmsundet approx. 610 m, main span approx. 250m. Planned to be constructed as a cantilever bridge.
• Large sea embankments in three remaining straits.
• Road construction from the junction with the E39 at Nautneset to Gossen.

On the Digernes – Ørskogfjellet road section, the zoning plan work will be starting in June this year. Several different alignments have been proposed for this road. All include one to two tunnels.
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Planning work is expected to begin for the Breivika-Digernes road section around the turn of the year 21/22. There are sketches both for road development along the existing route and for a number of alternative alignments, partly in tunnels.