Vaðlaheiðargöng (, ) is a

toll tunnel A toll tunnel is a road tunnel where a monetary charge (or ''Fee, toll'') is required to pass through. This is done by a gate before entering the tunnel or online. List of toll tunnels United States Tolls removed * Hampton Roads Bridge–Tu ...

in the north of

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

along

Route 1 The following highways are numbered 1. For roads numbered A1, see list of A1 roads. For roads numbered B1, see list of B1 roads. For roads numbered M1, see List of M1 roads. For roads numbered N1, see list of N1 roads. For roads numbered S ...

, just east of

Akureyri Akureyri (, ) is a town in northern Iceland, the country's fifth most populous Municipalities of Iceland, municipality (under the official name of Akureyrarbær , 'town of Akureyri') and the largest outside the Capital Region (Iceland), Capital R ...

. It passes between

Eyjafjörður Eyjafjörður (, ''Island Fjord'') is one of the longest fjords in Iceland. It is located in the central north of the country. Situated by the fjord is the country's fourth most populous municipality, Akureyri. Physical geography The fjord is ...

and

Fnjóskadalur () is an agricultural valley in northeastern Iceland, approximately 10 km northeast of Akureyri. Fnjóská, a popular salmon angling river and the longest spring-fed river in Iceland, runs through the valley. The river originates on Spren ...

. It is long and replaces a 21 km section of Route 1 including the Víkurskarð pass, often closed during winter. The tunnel shortens the travel between Akureyri and Husavik by 16 km. As of 2024, it is the only

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and ...

in Iceland. The tunnel's construction was delayed by two water ingress incidents, one being of geothermal hot water. Due to this, temperatures inside the tunnel rise up to 22-26 °C in the warmest sections, and one of the tunnel's emergency laybys has even been used for

hot yoga Hot yoga is a form of yoga as exercise performed under hot and humid conditions, resulting in considerable sweating. Some hot yoga practices seek to replicate the heat and humidity of India, where yoga originated. Bikram Choudhury has suggested ...

. The hot water found is used in a local geothermal spa a few kilometres south of the tunnel.

Construction and Cost

The estimated cost of the tunnel was ISK 11.5 billion (2013 prices, about US$96 million) but by April 2017, it was reported that the costs had surpassed the estimates by 44%. The Icelandic government loaned 4.7 billion ISK to the construction of the project in April 2017. The tunnel was planned to open at the end of 2016. However, a large cold water leak was found in early 2015 and large supports needed to be put in place. Adding to the problems, a large volume of hot water was also found and needed to be pumped out of the tunnel. The tunnel was scheduled to open in the fall of 2018. As of April 2017, the tunnel had been drilled, but finishing up and building the road remained. The tunnel opened on 21 December 2018.

Water utilization

The two water ingresses encountered during the construction of the tunnel were contained and conduits were placed in the tunnel to its western entrance (Akureyri side). The hot water found in 2014 had a

volumetric flow In physics and engineering, in particular fluid dynamics, the volumetric flow rate (also known as volume flow rate, or volume velocity) is the volume of fluid which passes per unit time; usually it is represented by the symbol (sometimes \do ...

of 350L/s of 50 °C and around 500L/s of cold water was found separately in 2015. Initially the hot water was discharged into the sea just west of the tunnel, creating a small tourist attraction of its own, with locals bathing in the hot waterfall by the shore. The local

utility In economics, utility is a measure of a certain person's satisfaction from a certain state of the world. Over time, the term has been used with at least two meanings. * In a normative context, utility refers to a goal or objective that we wish ...

, Norðurorka, plans to use the cold water for the local area, including

in future. In 2017, a local competition was launched to find the best use of the hot water. After the utility connections had been constructed, in 2022 a geothermal spa called 'Forest Lagoon' opened, located a few kilometers south of the tunnel in Eyjarfjarðarsveit.

Toll

The tunnel uses

automatic number-plate recognition Automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR; see also #Other names, other names below) is a technology that uses optical character recognition on images to read vehicle registration plates to create vehicle location data. It can use existing clos ...

to collect tolls and is completely unmanned and has no toll collection booths. Users either register on their website and pay, or, after 24 hours the toll is invoiced to the owner through their

vehicle registration plate A vehicle registration plate, also known as a number plate (British, Indian and Australian English), license plate (American English) or licence plate (Canadian English), is a metal or plastic plate attached to a motor vehicle or trailer for ...

, incurring a collection fee of 1,490 ISK. The tolls as of June 2025 are:

Reception

The construction of the tunnel and the Icelandic government's role was somewhat controversial. Opponents of the project said the project would not be profitable within a reasonable span of time (if at all), the construction costs would exceed original estimates and the motivation behind the construction would be to benefit the voting demographic in the marginal constituency in which it was located. Initially, the collection fee was 1,000 ISK if the toll was not paid within three hours. This was controversial as tourists and non-regular users were unaware of the system, and was later reduced to 400 ISK and grace period increased to 24 hours. As of June 2025, the collection fee is 1,490 ISK. In July 2019, it was reported that the toll tunnel had earned 35-40% less than estimated. This was because fewer cars went through the tunnel than expected and because more drivers paid in advance than was expected.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vadlaheidargong Road tunnels in Iceland Buildings and structures in Northeastern Region (Iceland)