The Tromsø Bridge () is a

cantilever A cantilever is a rigid structural element that extends horizontally and is unsupported at one end. Typically it extends from a flat vertical surface such as a wall, to which it must be firmly attached. Like other structural elements, a cantilev ...

road bridge A bridge is a structure built to Span (engineering), span a physical obstacle (such as a body of water, valley, road, or railway) without blocking the path underneath. It is constructed for the purpose of providing passage over the obstacle, whi ...

in the city of Tromsø which is located in

Tromsø Municipality Tromsø Municipality is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Troms county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø. Other notable settlements in the municipality include the vi ...

Troms Troms (; ; ; ) is a Counties of Norway, county in northern Norway. It borders Finnmark county to the northeast and Nordland county in the southwest. Norrbotten Län in Sweden is located to the south and further southeast is a shorter border with ...

county,

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. It crosses the

Tromsøysundet or is a strait located in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The long strait separates the island of Tromsøya (the location of the city of Tromsø) from the mainland east of the island. The strait is crossed by the Tromsøysund Tu ...

strait between

Tromsdalen or is an urban neighborhood in the Tromsø (city), city of Tromsø which is in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It is located just to the east of the city centre on the mainland along the coast of the Tromsøysundet strait. The v ...

on the mainland and the island of

Tromsøya or is an island in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. It lies in the Tromsøysundet strait between the mainland and the larger island of Kvaløya. The city of Tromsø is located on the island, which has 39,882 residents. The isla ...

. The bridge has 58 spans, of which the longest is with a maximum clearance to the sea of .

History

Construction began in 1958 and the bridge was opened in 1960. At the time of its opening, it was the longest bridge in

Northern Europe The northern region of Europe has several definitions. A restrictive definition may describe northern Europe as being roughly north of the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, which is about 54th parallel north, 54°N, or may be based on other ge ...

, with a length of . At a cost of , the bridge replaced an inefficient ferry connection between the two sides of the strait, and it helped boost the growth and development of Tromsø. Due to severe congestion issues, the mainland road connection was later reinforced by the construction of the

Tromsøysund Tunnel The Tromsøysund Tunnel () is an undersea highway tunnel in Tromsø Municipality in Troms county, Norway. The tunnel runs under the Tromsøysundet strait, connecting the island of Tromsøya (and the city of Tromsø) with the mainland suburb of ...

in the 1990s. Unlike the tunnel, located almost further north, the Tromsø Bridge leads directly to the city centre of Tromsø. The Tromsø Bridge was the first cantilever bridge to be built in Norway. Since then, many bridges of this type have been built. The bridge is one of the most important landmarks of Tromsø, and forms part of a motif composed of the Arctic Cathedral, the Tromsdalstinden mountain, and the Tromsø Bridge. In 2000, the Directorate for Cultural Heritage protected the bridge against modifications. In 2005, the fencing was raised by two and a half meters, and seven years later, Norway's road authority planned on adding extra fencing onto many bridges to help prevent

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tromso Bridge Bridges completed in 1960 Road bridges in Troms Buildings and structures in Tromsø 1960 establishments in Norway Roads within the Arctic Circle