This is where the floating tunnels come in. The tunnel will have two lanes on each side, with passages at every 250m to provide easy exits during emergencies. 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. A floating tunnel obviates those problems---and shouldn't be any more expensive than the saner-sounding, conventional alternatives, the engineers say. Norway May Build an Underwater Tunnel to Ford the Fjords. 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. 3rd Symp on Strait Crossings. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? "Norwegians are quite used to going under water in tunnels.". The term "floating" is perhaps misleading. 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. The Norwegian government are embarking on the largest infrastructure project in the country's history. 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. "As a bridge engineer working on this amazing project," says Minoretti, "one can only hope.". As of 2016 , a submerged floating tunnel has never been built, but several proposals have been floated by different entities. Construction could interfere with ship traffic and requires therefore extreme precision from the engineers. Floating bridges -- structures that are supported by pontoons -- have been built in Norway and the US, among other countries. E39 Rogfast will be a twin-tube road tunnel, which will cross Boknafjorden and Kvitsøyfjorden north of Stavanger, replacing the current ferry over Boknafjorden. 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. on realising that, when he eased himself into the bath, the same volume of water was displaced. Norway is building the world's first submerged floating tunnel to cross the fjords. This stop-and-start, sea-and-land journey takes 21 hours. It connects the city of scavenger and Haugesund. This is what the floating bridge would look like. Instead, the plan calls for something the world has never seen before: a submerged floating tunnel. It will have six longitudinal ventilation shafts, which comprise … Made of concrete, they would function like conventional tunnels, transporting vehicles from one end of a fjord to another. If successful, Norway could win a global race against countries including China, South Korea and Italy, which are. Archimedes supposedly criedEureka! Norway to achieve "floating tunnel" project-Source: CNN.com Norway plans to invest in floating tunnel technology in order to facilitate motorists' transportation. But, this spectacular terrain morphology makes travelling a challenging task. Norway starts the largest infrastructure project in its history, in order to better entry to cities across the nordic country. (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). Norway's landscape, consisting of glaciers, mountains and fjords, is one of the most impressive worldwide. By 2025, 33 percent of the project is expected to be completed. 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. Seven times the change of missing it or having to wait for seven ferries. Norway is proposing a multiple-lane national highway that could reduce cross-country travel time from 21 hours down to about 11. The submerged-floating road tunnel will allow ships to sail over, while submarines can also pass freely underneath the tunnel. Norway’s new bold floating tunnel plan. Though many countries have shown interest, namely Norway with its very deep fjords, a submerged floating tunnel has never been built. 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. That honour goes to the “floating” tunnel about 30 meters below sea level. Floating bridges -- structures that are supported by pontoons -- have been built in Norway and the US, among other countries. The biggest risks in the project are explosions, fire and overloading, says Minoretti -- and so extensive testing is essential. Norway, the Scandinavian country that isn't Finland or Sweden, is considering an unprecedented civil engineering project that will involve floating … Waves and currents at 100 feet below sea level are less powerful than those at the surface, explains NPRA's chief engineer Arianna Minoretti. Why build a floating tunnel? A combination of motorways, roads and ferry rides, E39 runs along the southwestern. Can Norway win the global race to build a 'floating tunnel'? It will be 1,286 feet deep and 17 miles long. Each of the breaks occurs at seven fjords -- where drivers must put their cars on a ferry to get across. Instead, the plan calls for something the world has never seen before: a submerged floating tunnel. Is it a tunnel, is it a bridge? "Ferry-free E39" would cut the driving time almost in half with a series of bridges and tunnels across the fjords. ... Norway’s public roads administration has proposed building the world’s first “submerged floating tunnels” along E39. 1/8 Could Norway be first in a global race to build a ‘floating tunnel’?. to make sure the plans, as well as the tunnel, is rooted in "the real-world environment.". Those countries are working on similar projects. A major highway that connects the city of Kristiansand in the south to Trondheim in the north cuts through a number of fjords. Three suspension bridges and five floating bridges will be built. 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. 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. 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). The Norwegian government estimates it could cut the drive across the Highway E39 by half the time The twin tunnels will have a diameter of 10.5m and a maximum depth of 392m below sea level. 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. If that succeeds, Norway might be too quick to get rid of rivals like China, South Korea and Italy. 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 Norwegian Public Roads Administration / Vianova, The Norwegian Public Roads Administration. 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. She said 50 international experts "are doing detailed simulations and detailed measurements of wind speed, current, undersea landslides, bedrock geology, etc." Ã…lesund, Norway; 1994. Although not much is known about his li… While locations for the submerged floating tunnels have not yet been pinned down, Minoretti says the. Not just any tunnel either. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration In addition, a floating tunnel minimizes the impact on the landscape since most of the infrastructure is out of sight. This ambitious line of bridges and tunnels for the new Highway E39 is part of an even bigger network. Its rugged terrain does not make traveling easy, however. Beautiful as the land may be, that’s a big nope from us. A daring piece, but it is not the most ambitious part of the billions plan. "Improved transport will improve welfare for the local population, open up to more exports and increase tourism. 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. CNN Sans ™ & © 2016 Cable News Network. With majestic glaciers, fjords and mountains, Norway is famous for its dramatic natural landscape. To date, 10 percent of the project has been completed. 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. The Sognefjorden STF would feature two tubes, suspended from floating pontoons. 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