The Hvalbiartunnilin (Hvalba Tunnel) is the name applied to two tunnels on the island of

Suðuroy Suðuroy (literally South Island, da, Suderø) is the southernmost of the Faroe Islands. The island covers 163.7 square kilometres (63.2 sq mi). In 2018 the population was 4,601. Suðuroy region (sýsla) comprises this island and Lítla ...

, the most southerly of the

Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( fo, Føroyar ; da, Færøerne ), are a North Atlantic island group and an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark. They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway bet ...

. The original Hvalbiartunnilin is the oldest tunnel in the country, while the new Hvalbiartunnilin is the newest (as of 2021). Both tunnels connect the villages of

Hvalba Hvalba ( da, Kvalbø) is a village and a municipality in the Faroe Islands, which consists of Hvalba, Nes-Hvalba and Sandvík. The village spreads around the bottom of a deep inlet, Hvalbiarfjørður, in the northeast of Suðuroy. Population Hv ...

and

Trongisvágur Trongisvágur ( da, Trangisvåg) is a village on the island of Suduroy in the Faroe Islands. Trongisvágur is the village in the bottom of Trongisvágsfjørður (fjord) on the east coast of Suduroy. Trongisvágur and the neighbouring villages ...

. The tunnels are owned and maintained by the public works authority Landsverk.

History

The centuries before the tunnel arrived, Hvalba and Trongisvágur were connected by a footpath via the Krákugjógv. Construction of the Hvalbiartunnilin started in 1961 and it opened in 1963, as the first tunnel in the country. It closed on 8 May 2021 with the opening of the new tunnel. The old tunnel was an unlit, one-lane tunnel, measuring 1,450 metres in length. Because of its limited clearance of 3.2 metres, it could not handle modern-sized large vehicles, which typically measure 3.7 to 4.0 meters, including lorries, trailers and touringcars. This impededed transport to the rest of the country. Northbound traffic had to yield to southbound traffic in passing places, slowing down transit and reducing road safety. In 2017 it was decided to replace the old tunnel with a new tunnel. This tunnel, with two lanes and a clearance of 4.5 meters, measures 2,500 metres in length. Boring started on 27 June 2019 and finished on 7 July 2020. A new access road of 2.4 kilometres was constructed on the Hvalba side and 1.4 km on the Trongisvágur side. The tunnel is built by ArtiCon and LNS. It cost 272 million DKK. The tunnel opened on 8 May 2021 with a ceremony, oldtimers and a convoy of lorries that previously could not access Hvalba. The old tunnel will be repurposed, although it will continue to be used for motor traffic as a back-up connection when the new tunnel is closed for any reason. The new Hvalbiartunnilin would gain additional importance if the subsea

Suðuroyartunnilin The Suðuroyartunnilin (Suðuroy Tunnel) is a proposed submerged fixed-link in the Faroe Islands, linking the island of Suðuroy to Sandoy. Currently all vehicles and cargo, and virtually all passenger traffic must use the ferry service. Curren ...

is constructed between

Sandvík Sandvík (pronounced , "Sandy Bay"; da, Sandvig) is the northernmost village of the island of Suðuroy in the Faroe Islands. It is situated on the northern side of a shallow fjord. The village was previously known as Hvalvík (''Bay of Whales'') ...

on Suðuroy and the isle of

Sandoy Sandoy ("Sand Island") is the first of the five southern islands that make up the Faroe chain, the fifth biggest of all the Faroe Islands, an autonomous region of the Kingdom of Denmark. It also refers to the region that includes this island alon ...

. This tunnel is yet to be decided upon, but should according to plans open around 2030. Sandoy is connected to capital

Tórshavn Tórshavn (; lit. "Thor's harbour"), usually locally referred to as simply ''Havn'', is the capital and largest city of the Faroe Islands. It is located in the southern part on the east coast of Streymoy. To the northwest of the city lies the ...

and the rest of the country via the

Sandoyartunnilin Sandoyartunnilin (Sandoy Tunnel) is an undersea road tunnel under construction in the Faroe Islands. It will connect the main island of Streymoy with Sandoy to the south. The length of the tunnel will be 10.8 kilometres. The estimated cost is 86 ...

. The footpath between Hvalba and Trongisvágur is a popular hiking route.

References

{{reflist Tunnels in the Faroe Islands Tunnels completed in 1961

History

See also

References