Sandoyartunnilin (Sandoy Tunnel) is an undersea

road tunnel A tunnel is an underground passageway, dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, and enclosed except for the entrance and exit, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube cons ...

under construction in 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 ...

. It will connect the main island of

Streymoy Streymoy ( da, Strømø) is the largest and most populated island of the Faroe Islands. The capital, Tórshavn, is located on its southeast coast. The name means "island of currents". It also refers to the largest region of the country that also i ...

with

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 ...

to the south. The length of the tunnel will be 10.8 kilometres. The estimated cost is 860 million DKK. The tunnel is expected to be ready for traffic in late 2023, after which the ferry '' Teistin'' will cease its route between

Gamlarætt Gamlarætt is a ferry port in the Faroe Islands. It is situated on the southwestern side of the island of Streymoy, the largest island in the Faroes, between the villages of Velbastaður and Kirkjubøur. It accommodates ferry services to the islan ...

on Streymoy and

Skopun Skopun (pronounced ; da, Skopen) is a town in the Faroe Islands situated on the northern coast of Sandoy. Skopun is the second-largest town on the island. Skopun Municipality consists only of the town of Skopun. History Although the area has be ...

on Sandoy. The tunnel crosses the

Skopunarfjørður Skopunarfjørður is a strait separating Sandoy and Streymoy in the Faroe Islands. The strait also passes the isle of Hestur. Geography The strait runs between (an islet off northern Sandoy) and the south cape of Hestur in the west and Kir ...

and runs from Gamlarætt to Traðardalur in central Sandoy, near the Inni í Dal stadium. On 3 February 2022 the two sides of the tunnel were connected during a ceremony. Construction began on 27 June 2019 and the halfway mark was hit in September 2020. It will take until the end of 2022 before the tunnel can open for traffic and the ferry route to Sandoy will cease to operate. In political, legal and economic terms, the project is linked to the

Eysturoyartunnilin The Eysturoyartunnilin (in English the Eysturoy Tunnel, earlier known as the Skálafjarðartunnilin) is a large undersea road tunnel under the Tangafjørður sound in the Faroe Islands, connecting the island of Streymoy to the island of Eysturo ...

, which was opened for traffic on 19 December 2020. The Eysturoyartunnilin, expected to be more lucrative than the Sandoyartunnilin, will partially finance the latter via cross subsidisation. It is projected that 300-400 vehicles per day will use the tunnel to Sandoy. In comparison, the average daily ridership of the ferry route was 195 vehicles (with drivers) and 613 passengers (excluding drivers) in 2021. The ridership of the Sandoyartunnilin would be further increased if it can act as a stepping stone for the

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 ...

, or new ferry route, to

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 ...

. A new residential and industrial area is being built with tunnel debris at

Velbastaður Velbastaður ( da, Velbestad) is a village on the island of Streymoy in the Faroe Islands. It is a part of Tórshavn Municipality and is considered among the oldest settlements in the islands. There are two schools and one kindergarten in the vi ...

. Other debris is used in Runavík and Strendur for a new coastal road. The Farose Útoyggjafelagið ('Outpost Island Society) lobbied for a branch to the island of

Hestur Hestur ( da, Hestø) is an island in the central Faroe Islands, to the west of Streymoy and the south of Koltur. ''Hestur'' means ''horse'' in Faroese. On the west coast is a guillemot colony. In the north there is moorland with four small lakes ...

, but this was deprioritised due to costs. Ferry port Gamlarætt will therefore remain a ferry port for Hestur after the Sandoy route terminates.http://umsit.portal.fo/hestur+skal+knytast+uppi+sandoyartunnilin.html

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References

Road tunnels Tunnels in the Faroe Islands Undersea tunnels in Europe {{Faroes-geo-stub

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See also

References