To make that drive easier, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) has proposed the world's first underwater floating tunnel, which would be submerged in the Norwegian Sea. Norway, the Scandinavian country that isn't Finland or Sweden, is considering an unprecedented civil engineering project that will involve floating … The proposed "floating tunnel" would be the first of its kind. "That would be an advantage ... (for) people living in the area," Minoretti says. E39 Rogfast will be a twin-tube road tunnel, which will cross Boknafjorden and Kvitsøyfjorden north of Stavanger, replacing the current ferry over Boknafjorden. This is what the floating bridge would look like. But, this spectacular terrain morphology makes travelling a challenging task. The Norwegian government estimates it could cut the drive across the Highway E39 by half the time As a part of huge infrastructure project in Norway, engineers have proposed to build a world first floating underwater tunnel in a fjord — a long, narrow, deep inlet of the sea between high cliffs. Construction could interfere with ship traffic and requires therefore extreme precision from the engineers. This ambitious line of bridges and tunnels for the new Highway E39 is part of an even bigger network. In addition to staying clear of water traffic, the depth of the tunnel assures smooth driving. Catch up on the developing stories making headlines today. Why build a floating tunnel? The government intends to improve transport "for commercial purposes (and) also for the welfare of the local population," Dunham says. Creating "a pleasing driving environment" is just part of the plan for another unique tunnel along the future E39. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? At 4,265 feet deep, the largest in Norway, Sognefjord is too deep to dig a tunnel beneath the sea bottom. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration / Vianova, The Norwegian Public Roads Administration. Norway starts the largest infrastructure project in its history, in order to better entry to cities across the nordic country. ", In fact, she said, "the tunnels may become attractions," like a "new Eiffel Tower on and under the water.". Curiously enough, floating tunnels are considered a more viable option for Norway than regular tunnels considering the depth of the sea bed in solid rock, but there are still challenges ahead. But the Norwegian government has come up with an ambitious plan, set to cost a whopping $56 billion, to solve the problem. By 2025, 33 percent of the project is expected to be completed. 3rd Symp on Strait Crossings. The Rogfast subsea tunnel is going to be about 27kms-long and 390m deep. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration It will be 1,286 feet deep and 17 miles long. Floating bridges do not work in all cases because they are susceptible to harsh weather conditions such as strong waves and currents. Norway’s new bold floating tunnel plan. But if you look carefully at a road map, E39 is something of a dotted line. The Sognefjorden STF would feature two tubes, suspended from floating pontoons. Norway is proposing a multiple-lane national highway that could reduce cross-country travel time from 21 hours down to about 11. ... Norway’s public roads administration has proposed building the world’s first “submerged floating tunnels” along E39. World's first 'floating tunnel' proposed in Norway The submerged roadway would help speed travel along the nation's rugged west coast. Norway’s Public Roads Administration has an ambitious plan to solve the problem by building the world’s first floating submerged tunnel system about 30 meters (100ft) underwater. Norway’s $40B infrastructure projectNorway is working on an ambitious infrastructure project to improve the journey between the cities of Kristiansand and Trondheim, which is part of the E39 route crossing the southwestern coast. Above and Below: The Sognefjorden suspended floating tunnel would be held up by floating platforms, allowing passage of cruise ships (images courtesy of Statens vegvesen). "Improved transport will improve welfare for the local population, open up to more exports and increase tourism. And it includes underwater “floating” tunnels 30m under the surface of the water. "Route E39 is a key route for Norway," said Kjersti Kvalheim Dunham, a project manager overseeing the revamping of the E39 route. Norway releases interim planning report on estimated $24.5-billion highway project, which would include the world's first floating tunnel and the world's longest floating bridge. It also creates less noise than traffic on a bridge would. The journey between Kristiansand and Trondheim is part of the E39, which is a "key route for Norway," explains Kjersti Kvalheim Dunham, a project manager at NPRA. Made of concrete, they would function like conventional tunnels, transporting vehicles from one end of a fjord to another. In addition, a floating tunnel minimizes the impact on the landscape since most of the infrastructure is out of sight. "Norway already has got 1,170 tunnels, 37 of which go under water," explained Kvalheim Dunham. It will have six longitudinal ventilation shafts, which comprise … The submerged-floating road tunnel will allow ships to sail over, while submarines can also pass freely underneath the tunnel. Tveit P. Design of a submerged floating tunnel with a free span on 1750 m. Proc. Norway May Build an Underwater Tunnel to Ford the Fjords. Instead, the plan calls for something the world has never seen before: a submerged floating tunnel. The twin tunnels will have a diameter of 10.5m and a maximum depth of 392m below sea level. When a fjord is deeper than 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) or wider than 5 kilometers (3 miles), however, existing engineering solutions are not going to cut it. But the Norwegian government thinks it can reduce the drive time by half, with its ambitious plan for the world's first submerged floating tunnel. Archimedes supposedly criedEureka! The downward arched submerged floating tunnel (SFT) with no stays is the most economical alternative for free spans up to 1.5 km in deep Norwegian fjords, and in … Though many countries have shown interest, namely Norway with its very deep fjords, a submerged floating tunnel has never been built. The improved E39 will open up more of the west coast to tourism, while the tunnels may become attractions in their own right -- especially if they are a world first. While locations for the submerged floating tunnels have not yet been pinned down, Minoretti says the. In addition, a floating tunnel minimizes the impact on the landscape since most of the infrastructure is out of sight. to make sure the plans, as well as the tunnel, is rooted in "the real-world environment.". A floating tunnel obviates those problems---and shouldn't be any more expensive than the saner-sounding, conventional alternatives, the engineers say. The two concrete tubes of the tunnel -- one for traffic headed in each direction -- will be firmly fixed in position and attached to floating pontoons, spaced 820 feet apart to allow sea vessels to pass through. Seven times the change of missing it or having to wait for seven ferries. An illustration shows a potential submerged floating tunnel (SFT), as it would show on the surface, to cross a fjord in Norway. Norway has hatched ambitious plans to install the world’s first floating underwater tunnels to help travelers easily cross the nation’s many fjords. The tests will help the team to understand what would happen to the tunnel's structure if, for example, a truck carrying dangerous goods exploded inside. Rather, it is a submerged floating tube bridgeor SFTB, based on a principle of physics described over 2,000 years ago. Norway Public Roads Administration programme manager Kjersti Kvalheim Dunham told The Telegraph: “It’s nearly 1,100km from end to end, but the journey takes 21 hours on a good day, because of the seven ferry crossings en route. deeper than 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) or wider than 5 kilometers (3 miles). NPRA is working with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's Center for Advanced Structural Analysis (CASA), using live explosives to "investigate how tubular concrete structures behave when subjected to internal blast loads," says CASA researcher Martin Kristoffersen. Those countries are working on similar projects. That honour goes to the “floating” tunnel about 30 meters below sea level. Although not much is known about his li… Norway is building the world's first submerged floating tunnel to cross the fjords. The idea for a submerged floating tunnel is not new. Each of the breaks occurs at seven fjords -- where drivers must put their cars on a ferry to get across. 1/8 Could Norway be first in a global race to build a ‘floating tunnel’?. The entire route won't be fully finished until 2050, Kvalheim Dunheim said. This stop-and-start, sea-and-land journey takes 21 hours. Conventional cable-stayed bridges and tunnels won't work in parts of Norway's west coast because some of the fjords are simply too deep. Traveling by car from Norway’s largest city in the south, Kristiansand, northbound over the E39 you have to pas seven gorgeous but very inconvenient fords. A combination of motorways, roads and ferry rides, E39 runs along the southwestern. Norway's landscape, consisting of glaciers, mountains and fjords, is one of the most impressive worldwide. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA), the governmental body responsible for the project, aims to complete construction by 2050. This is where the floating tunnels come in. More than 1,000 fjords line the Scandinavian country's west coast, which is home to a third of the country's, The Norwegian government plans to cut that time by half with a groundbreaking $40 billion infrastructure project to make the route "ferry-free. CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network. If that succeeds, Norway might be too quick to get rid of rivals like China, South Korea and Italy. But the most ambitious aspect is the development of submerged floating tunnels that sit around 30 meters (100 feet) under the surface of the water. Beautiful as the land may be, that’s a big nope from us. It connects the city of scavenger and Haugesund. "Wind, waves and currents have hardly any influence there," Arianna Minoretti, a chief engineer at Norway's Public Roads Administration, told ABC News. Results so far indicate that the constant water pressure that surrounds the floating tunnels reduces the damage caused by explosions. [9] Tveit P, Moe G. Submerged floating … Think of a drinking straw, anchored in the bedrock on either side of the fjord, submerged about 98 feet below the surface of the water, low enough for the biggest ships to pass safely over, and with plenty of space underneath for submarines to come and go. Also called Archimedes’ bridge, the infrastructure designed by Norwegian engineers is based on the thinking of this scientist from Syracuse and brings together the best in bridges with the best in tunnels. If that sounds like a long stretch in the nowhere-land of a tunnel, the Norwegians are planning to make the tunnel's lighting as easy on the eyes as possible. Three suspension bridges and five floating bridges will be built. Instead, the plan calls for something the world has never seen before: a submerged floating tunnel. But when the bed is too deep, too rough, the submerged floating tunnel is employed. It is 684 miles of unending scenery, including rivers and lakes, waterfalls and mountains and numerous fjords. At 4,265 feet deep, the largest in Norway, Sognefjord is too deep to dig a tunnel beneath the sea bottom. Norway is planning to construct a submerged floating bridge to help travelers easily cross seven of the country's fjords. Not just any tunnel either. on realising that, when he eased himself into the bath, the same volume of water was displaced. Norway’s big idea is as outside of the box as a Star Trek solution: a floating, underwater tunnel. A rendering of a submerged floating tunnel under the surface of the water. The new highway won't be ready anytime soon. A daring piece, but it is not the most ambitious part of the billions plan. The term "floating" is perhaps misleading. Floating bridges -- structures that are supported by pontoons -- have been built in Norway and the US, among other countries. Working with the Norwegian navy, the NPRA team is also investigating how the tunnels would fare if submarines crashed into them. "Norwegians are quite used to going under water in tunnels.". I n a world first, Norway is planning to build a submerged, floating tunnel to allow road traffic to cross one of its deepest fjords. She said 50 international experts "are doing detailed simulations and detailed measurements of wind speed, current, undersea landslides, bedrock geology, etc." Norway has proposed a solution to the usual 21-hour drive from one end of the country across the nation’s many fjords to the other (from Kristiansand to Trondheim via the E39), and it’s in the form of submerged floating tunnels. Can Norway win the global race to build a 'floating tunnel'? It is predicted to cost $25 billion (around £19 million) to build, according to Wired. A rendering that shows the floating tunnel anchored to the seabed via cables. The biggest risks in the project are explosions, fire and overloading, says Minoretti -- and so extensive testing is essential. Waves and currents at 100 feet below sea level are less powerful than those at the surface, explains NPRA's chief engineer Arianna Minoretti. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration Floating tunnel. (MORE: World's longest sea bridge to open after 9 years of construction), (MORE: China opens world’s longest sea bridge and tunnel to connect Hong Kong and Macau to the mainland), (MORE: Norway set to deport teenager to country she's never visited). A map shows the fjords along the west coast of Norway and the route of E39. If successful, Norway could win a global race against countries including China, South Korea and Italy, which are. ", World's largest underwater restaurant nears completion. "As a bridge engineer working on this amazing project," says Minoretti, "one can only hope.". One planned tunnel will set a world record for a rock tunnel -- drilled under the seabed of a fjord. Its rugged terrain does not make traveling easy, however. An illustration shows what a potential underwater floating tunnel, with tubes for traffic going both ways, would look like in Norway. A major highway that connects the city of Kristiansand in the south to Trondheim in the north cuts through a number of fjords. that means seven ferry trips. Norway to achieve "floating tunnel" project-Source: CNN.com Norway plans to invest in floating tunnel technology in order to facilitate motorists' transportation. As of 2016 , a submerged floating tunnel has never been built, but several proposals have been floated by different entities. "Ferry-free E39" would cut the driving time almost in half with a series of bridges and tunnels across the fjords. These next-level underwater villas are making waves. Highway E39 in Norway is one of the most beautiful drives in the world, hugging the country's rugged west coast from Kristiansand to Trondheim. The Norwegian government are embarking on the largest infrastructure project in the country's history. The journey between Kristiansand and Trondheim is part of the E39, which is a "key route for Norway," explains Kjersti Kvalheim Dunham, a project manager at NPRA. The proposed tunnel consists of 4,000-foot long concrete tubes that can hold two lanes of traffic. The plan includes bridges and the world's deepest and longest rock tunnel -- drilled through bedrock under the seabed -- measuring 392 meters (1,286 feet) deep and 27 kilometers (17 miles) long. Is it a tunnel, is it a bridge? To date, 10 percent of the project has been completed. Ã…lesund, Norway; 1994. With majestic glaciers, fjords and mountains, Norway is famous for its dramatic natural landscape. 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