Ryfast
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Ryfast is a subsea tunnel system in
Rogaland Rogaland () is a Counties of Norway, county in Western Norway, bordering the North Sea to the west and the counties of Vestland to the north, Telemark to the east and Agder to the east and southeast. As of 1 January 2024, it had a population of 49 ...
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 system is part of the
Norwegian National Road 13 National Road 13 (, ) is a national road which runs from the town of Stavanger in Rogaland county to the village of Sogndalsfjøra in Vestland county. The route is long and runs south–north through Rogaland and Vestland counties, following ...
, and it runs between the city of Stavanger in
Stavanger Municipality Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
, under a large fjord, and the area of Solbakk in the municipality of
Strand Strand or The Strand may refer to: Topography *The flat area of land bordering a body of water, a: ** Beach ** Shoreline * Strand swamp, a type of swamp habitat in Florida Places Africa * Strand, Western Cape, a seaside town in South Africa * ...
. When the last section was drilled on 26 October 2017, Ryfast became the longest undersea road tunnel in the world, with its length greater than the
Eysturoyartunnilin The Eysturoy Tunnel (, previously known as ) is a large Undersea tunnel, undersea road tunnel under the sound in the Faroe Islands, connecting the island of Streymoy to the island of Eysturoy. It also crosses the southern part of , and connec ...
in the
Faroe Islands The Faroe Islands ( ) (alt. the Faroes) are an archipelago in the North Atlantic Ocean and an autonomous territory of the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. Located between Iceland, Norway, and the United Kingdom, the islands have a populat ...
at , the Tokyo Bay Tunnel in Japan at , and the Shanghai Yangtze River Tunnel at in China. It is also currently the world's deepest subsea tunnel, reaching a maximum depth of below sea level. The project was approved by the
Norwegian Parliament The Storting ( ; ) is the supreme legislature of Norway, established in 1814 by the Constitution of Norway. It is located in Oslo. The unicameral parliament has 169 members and is elected every four years based on party-list proportional represe ...
on 12 June 2012, and construction began in the spring of 2013. The cost of Ryfast is estimated to (Norwegian krone). The tunnel system replaced the ferry route between
Stavanger Stavanger, officially the Stavanger Municipality, is a city and municipalities of Norway, municipality in Norway. It is the third largest city and third largest metropolitan area in Norway (through conurbation with neighboring Sandnes) and the ...
and
Tau Tau (; uppercase Τ, lowercase τ or \boldsymbol\tau; ) is the nineteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless alveolar plosive, voiceless dental or alveolar plosive . In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 300 ...
. A large part of the cost is paid by road tolls. There are as of 2022 separate tolls for the Ryfylke Tunnel and for Hundvåg Tunnel, costing 179 NOK (17,45 euros) for a car without special agreement to pass both as of 2022. The tunnel system consists of two subsea tunnels: *
Ryfylke Tunnel The Ryfylke Tunnel () is an undersea road tunnel in Rogaland county, Norway. It is part of the Norwegian National Road 13 running between Stavanger and Ryfylke (district) under the Horgefjord (part of the Boknafjord). The tunnel is part of th ...
, , running from the island of Hundvåg to just south of the village of
Tau Tau (; uppercase Τ, lowercase τ or \boldsymbol\tau; ) is the nineteenth letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiceless alveolar plosive, voiceless dental or alveolar plosive . In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 300 ...
in Strand municipality on the other side of the fjord. This tunnel reduced travel time between the Northern
Jæren Jæren is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in Rogaland county, Norway. The other districts in Rogaland are Dalane, Ryfylke, and Haugalandet. Jæren is one of the 15 districts that comprise Western Norway. At about , Jæren is the large ...
and
Ryfylke Ryfylke is a Districts of Norway, traditional district in the northeastern part of Rogaland county, Norway. The district, encompassing about 60% of the county's area is located northeast of Stavanger and east of Haugesund. It includes the mainla ...
districts in Rogaland county. **Ryfylke officially opened to traffic at noon on 30 December 2019. *
Hundvåg Tunnel The Hundvåg Tunnel () is a road tunnel in Stavanger municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The long tunnel is located on the Norwegian National Road 13 highway. The tunnel goes under the Byfjorden and it connects the mainland of the city ...
, , running from the city of Stavanger to the island of Hundvåg, with a connection to the smaller island of
Buøy Buøy is an island in the municipality of Stavanger in Rogaland county, Norway. It is located in the borough of Hundvåg, Stavanger, Hundvåg in the Stavanger (city), city of Stavanger. The island was formerly separated from the island of Hund ...
. This tunnel relieved congestion on the
Stavanger City Bridge Stavanger City Bridge ( or just ''Bybrua'') is a cable-stayed bridge in the Stavanger (city), city of Stavanger which is in the large Stavanger Municipality in Rogaland county, Norway. The bridge has one tower and it was one of the first larger c ...
. **While the first section of Hundvåg was opened for a celebration in December 2019, the official opening for vehicles was delayed to 22 April 2020 due to extra technical testing, which was slowed due to the impact of the
COVID-19 pandemic in Norway The COVID-19 pandemic in Norway resulted in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and deaths. On 26 February 2020, the virus was confirmed to have spread to Norway. The number of cases increased rapidly during the month of March, prompting a number ...
. The Ryfast tunnel system was built at the same time as the Eiganes Tunnel, which was constructed from a similar starting point as the Hundvåg, under the city of Stavanger, but stays in (under) the city rather than continuing undersea. The Eiganes tunnel, like the Hundvåg tunnel, opened on 22 April 2020.


References

Subsea tunnels in Norway Road tunnels in Rogaland Norwegian National Road 13 Strand, Norway Transport in Stavanger {{Rogaland-geo-stub