Vestfjarðagöng (, regionally also , ) is the longest tunnel in
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 ...
, located in
Westfjords
The Westfjords or West Fjords (, ) is a large peninsula in northwestern Iceland and an administrative region, the least populous in the country. It lies on the Denmark Strait, facing the east coast of Greenland. It is connected to the rest of I ...
in northwestern Iceland. It has a length of and was opened in September 1996.
The tunnel has three entrances and the three arms meet at junction in the tunnel. The three arms are known as:
*Breiðadalur, 4,150 m (13,615 ft), which gives access to
Flateyri and the south-western part of the Westfjords;
*Botnsdalur 2,907 m (9,537 ft), which gives access to the village of
Suðureyri to the west, a dead end route;
*Tungudalur 2,103 m (6,900 ft), which gives access to
Ísafjörður
Ísafjörður (pronounced , meaning ''ice fjord'', literally ''fjord of ices'') is a town in the northwest of Iceland.
The oldest part of Ísafjörður with the town centre is located on a spit of sand, or ''eyri'', in Skutulsfjörður, a fjord ...
and the northern part of the Westfjords.
Only the Tungudalur arm has two lanes throughout. Much of the rest of the tunnel has only one lane with passing places, with traffic light control at curved sections to avoid collisions.
The tunnel avoids the Breiðadalsheiði road pass, the summit of which at 610m was formerly the highest pass in regular use in the Westfjords. It was frequently blocked by snow and prone to avalanches.
References
Road tunnels in Iceland
Tunnels completed in 1996
Buildings and structures in Westfjords
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