The T-Link ( no, T-forbindelsen) is a road/bridge/tunnel project in

Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Vestfold og Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. In 2020, it had a population of 47 ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

which took four years to build. It consists of the long

Karmøy Tunnel The Karmøy Tunnel ( no, Karmøytunnelen) was the longest subsea road tunnel in Norway until the opening of Ryfast in 2019, and is located in the municipalities of Karmøy and Tysvær in Rogaland county. At long, it links the island of Karmøy ...

, which connects the island of

Karmøy Karmøy is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is southwest of the town of Haugesund in the traditional district of Haugaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kopervik. Most of the municipality lies on t ...

with

European Route E39 European route E39 is the designation of a north–south road in Norway and Denmark from Klett, just south of Trondheim, to Aalborg via Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand. In total, there are nine ferries, more than any other single road in Eu ...

in Tysvær, and a section of road from a

roundabout A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is permitted to flow in one direction around a central island, and priority is typically given to traffic already in the junction.''The New Shorter Oxford En ...

in the tunnel north to

Haugesund Haugesund () is a municipality on the North Sea in Rogaland county, Norway. While the population is greater in the neighboring Karmøy municipality, the main commercial and economic centre of the Haugaland region in northern Rogaland and southern ...

. The project includes the long Tuastad Bridge, the long Husafjell Tunnel and the long Spannavarden Tunnel. Construction work began in the autumn of 2009, with the opening of T-forbindelsen occurring in September 2013.

History

With the establishment of E39, it was decided that the route would not pass through Karmøy, but instead follow a more inner route via

Bokn Bokn is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Haugaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Føresvik, the only urban area in Bokn. Other villages in Bokn include Ars ...

and Tysvær. The Skudeneshavn–Randaberg Ferry was at the same time downgraded, and the Mortavika–Arsvågen Ferry established as the main connection. Combined with the

Rennesøy Fixed Link Rennesøy is a former municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It was merged into Stavanger municipality on 1 January 2020. It was located in the traditional district of Ryfylke. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of V ...

, this gave much shorter ferry times across

Boknafjord Boknafjord or Boknafjorden ( en, Bokna Fjord) is a fjord located in Rogaland county, Norway. The huge fjord lies between the cities of Stavanger and Haugesund and dominates the central part of the county. The main part of the fjord is shared bet ...

. The T-Link was proposed to allow better access southwards towards

Jæren Jæren is a traditional district in Rogaland county, Norway. The other districts in Rogaland are Dalane, Ryfylke, and Haugalandet. Jæren is one of the 15 districts that comprise Western Norway. At about , Jæren is the largest flat lowland area ...

, while at the same time providing faster travel time between

Kopervik Kopervik is the largest town on the island of Karmøy in Rogaland county, Norway. It is also the administrative centre of the municipality of Karmøy. It is part of the traditional district of Haugaland. The town was also an independent municipa ...

to Haugesund. The project is estimated to cost 1.5 billion

Norwegian krone The krone (, abbreviation: kr (also NKr for distinction); code: NOK), plural ''kroner'', is currency of the Kingdom of Norway (including Svalbard). Traditionally known as the Norwegian crown in English. It is nominally subdivided into 100 ''� ...

(NOK) and was initially approved by the

Parliament of Norway The Storting ( no, Stortinget ) (lit. the Great Thing) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years bas ...

in 2001, which included that 60% of the tolls would be pre-collected on the Mortavika–Arsvågen Ferry. This gave an annual income of NOK 60 million. The remaining 40% will be collected from the uses as a toll. Financing (in 2008 NOK) included 405 million in state grants, 817 million from user payments, 39 million in municipal advances, 95 from

Karmøy Municipality Karmøy is a municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. It is southwest of the town of Haugesund in the traditional district of Haugaland. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Kopervik. Most of the municipality lies on ...

and 84 million from Rogaland County Municipality. The road tolls are NOK 22 for cars and NOK 44 for trucks.

References

{{reflist Toll roads in Norway European route E39 in Norway Roads in Rogaland Karmøy Tysvær Haugesund