The Varodd Bridges are two parallel

cantilever bridge A cantilever bridge is a bridge built using structures that project horizontally into space, supported on only one end (called cantilevers). For small footbridges, the cantilevers may be simple beam (structure), beams; however, large cantilever ...

s in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

municipality, in

Agder Agder is a counties of Norway, county () and districts of Norway, traditional region in the southern part of Norway and is coextensive with the Southern Norway region. The county was established on 1 January 2020, when the old Vest-Agder and Au ...

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 ...

, and they cross the

Topdalsfjorden Topdalsfjorden or Tofdalsfjorden is a fjord in the municipality of Kristiansand in Agder county, Norway. The long fjord runs from the village of Ålefjær south to the city centre of Kristiansand. The river Topdalselva empties into the fjord at ...

. They are named after the peninsula on the western shore. It goes from Vige and ends in

Søm Søm is a district in the city of Kristiansand in Agder county, Norway. With a population of about 9,500 (2022), it is the third largest district in Kristiansand. The district is a part of the borough of Oddernes. Søm has borders with the distri ...

in Kristiansand. The bridges carry the

European route E18 European route E18 runs between Craigavon, County Armagh, Craigavon in Northern Ireland and Saint Petersburg in Russia, passing through Scotland, England, Norway, Sweden and Finland. It is about in length. Although the designation implies the ...

highway over the fjord.

Old Bridge

The Old Varodd Bridge was a former

suspension bridge A suspension bridge is a type of bridge in which the deck (bridge), deck is hung below suspension wire rope, cables on vertical suspenders. The first modern examples of this type of bridge were built in the early 1800s. Simple suspension bridg ...

, which opened in 1956. It was a long suspension bridge, with a main span of . The two towers reached above sea level. Before the completion of the second bridge, this was the only bridge crossing Topdalsfjorden, making it a two-lane bridge carrying traffic in both directions. The replacement bridge was built in between the two current bridges and construction began in early 2017. The suspension bridge was demolished and removed in the fall of 2020.

New bridges

The New Varodd Bridge is parallel to the older bridge, and was completed in 1993 at a cost of US$13 million. It is a cantilever bridge with four spans. The main span is and a total length of . The bridge has a clearance below it. The bridge was built solely to relieve the traffic on the older bridge, and the two lanes only handled westbound traffic. Another new cantilever bridge for eastbound traffic was constructed between the old and new Varodd Bridge. It was completed in 2020.Ny Varoddbru skal stå klar i 2020

NRK The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (), commonly known by its initialism NRK, is a Norwegian state-run, government-influenced radio and television public broadcasting company. The NRK broadcasts three national TV channels and thirteen nat ...

Gallery

Varoddbrua nov 2020.jpg, The two parallel cantilever bridges in 2020. The former suspension bridge has been removed. Kristiansand, Varoddbroene fra Torsvikveien 04-03.JPG, The old suspension bridge on left, the 1993 bridge on right. Varoddbrua (1962).jpg, The old Varodd Bridge in 1962.

References

{{Authority control Geography of Kristiansand Bridges in Agder Suspension bridges in Norway Bridges completed in 1956 Bridges completed in 1993