The Jondal Tunnel () is a

road tunnel A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is usually completely enclosed except for the two portals common at each end, though there may be access and ve ...

in the

Hardanger Hardanger is a traditional district in the western part of Norway, dominated by the Hardangerfjord and its inner branches of the Sørfjorden and the Eid Fjord. It consists of the municipalities of Ullensvang, Eidfjord, Ulvik and Kvam, and is ...

region of

Vestland Vestland is a Counties of Norway, county in Norway. The county is located in Western Norway, and its administrative centre is Bergen, where the executive and political leadership is based. The County governor (Norway), County Governor is based in ...

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 ...

. The tunnel is part of

Norwegian County Road 49 Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe *Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway *Demographics of Norway *Norwegian language, including the two ...

and it lies in

Kvinnherad Kvinnherad is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It is located in the Traditional districts of Norway, traditional district of Sunnhordland, along the Hardangerfjorden. The municipality was the 5th in siz ...

and

Ullensvang Ullensvang is a Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland Counties of Norway, county, Norway. It is located in the Districts of Norway, traditional district of Hardanger. The administrative centre is the Odda (town), town of Odda. Some o ...

municipalities. The long tunnel was built to offer a better route between the cities of

Bergen Bergen (, ) is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Vestland county on the Western Norway, west coast of Norway. Bergen is the list of towns and cities in Norway, second-largest city in Norway after the capital Oslo. By May 20 ...

and

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

. Cars can drive from Bergen to Tørvikbygda, then take a ferry to

Jondal Jondal is a List of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Hordaland county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1863 until its dissolution in 2020 when it became part of Ullensvang Municipality in Vestland county. It ...

, then go through this tunnel, then a short drive to the

Folgefonna Tunnel The Folgefonna Tunnel () is a long road tunnel in Vestland county, Norway. The tunnel connects the village of Eitrheim and the town of Odda at the head of Sørfjorden in Ullensvang Municipality to the village of Austrepollen at the head of M ...

before getting to the town of

Odda Odda () is a list of former municipalities of Norway, former municipality in the old Hordaland counties of Norway, county, Norway. The municipality existed from 1913 until its dissolution in 2020 when it was merged into Ullensvang Municipality i ...

. From there it is a short drive on the narrow route 13 to the

European route E134 European route E134 () is a International E-road network, European highway that crosses Norway starting at Haugesund Airport, Karmøy near the city of Haugesund on the west coast, heading over Haukeli, passing the city of Drammen, and ending in V ...

highway which leads to Oslo. Work on the tunnel began in October 2009. The tunnel was opened on 7 September 2012 by Prime Minister

Jens Stoltenberg Jens Stoltenberg (; born 16 March 1959) is a Norwegian politician from the Labour Party. Since 2025, he has been the Minister of Finance in the Støre Cabinet. He has previously been the prime minister of Norway and secretary general of NATO. ...

. The project cost almost . For the first 6 years of its use (until 2018), there was a toll for using the tunnel: for small vehicles and for large vehicles. This was reduced in 2018 and on 8 June 2020 the toll was removed.

References

Ullensvang Kvinnherad Road tunnels in Vestland {{Norway-tunnel-stub