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 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 isl ...

on Streymoy and Skopun on Sandoy. The tunnel crosses the Skopunarfjørður 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, or new ferry route, to Suðuroy. A new residential and industrial area is being built with tunnel debris at Velbastaður. 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, 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

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