The first world’s ship tunnel

Norway – The Norwegian Parliament has designated one billion Norwegian kroner (NOK) around $ 118 million for the project in the National Transport Plan for 2014-2023. As part of this project, the world’s first underwater traffic tunnels at the Stadhavet Sea will be built in 2019.

The Stad Ship Tunnel will be the first ship tunnel allowing ships safer passage on a notoriously dangerous area on the Stadhavet Sea, and could accommodate 70 to 120 ships every single day. The ships can access the tunnel from the north in Selje, with southern access via the Moldefjord, the tunnel might also incorporate a bridge near the southern access for pedestrians. The northern access could include sleek horizontal ledges.

“In such a delicate landscape, the tunnel has to be more than just a foul intervention in nature. We put a lot of effort in making it aesthetically appealing” stated the Project Manager Terje Andreassen of the Norwegian Coastal Administration.

All said, that this project won’t be cheap and might cost around 2.3 billion NOK or around $ 272 million, and if the project is realized, the Stad Ship Tunnel would be the world’s first full-scale ship tunnel of this size.