List of tunnels of the Faroe Islands

Tunnels and bridges are an important part of the Faroese transportation network.^[1]

Árnafjarðartunnilin's entrance in Árnafjørður.

Red: Islands or the so-called Mainland connected by road (bridge, dam or tunnel), including the isle of Sandoy which will see its tunnel open in 2023. Yellow: Island that would be connected with the Suðuroyartunnilin. Green: Islands accessible only by water or air.

Tunnels

 

Locations of the tunnels

This list shows the Faroese tunnels, listed by age:^[1][2]

Tunnel	Year	Length m | ft		Connects	Island	Comments
Gamli Hvalbiartunnilin	1963	1,450	4,760	Hvalba and Trongisvágur	Suðuroy	Single lane with passing places, unlit. Replaced footpaths and post boat services. Though replaced by the New Hvalbiartunnilin in 2021, the old remains open for general traffic.
Árnafjarðartunnilin	1965	1,680	5,510	Ánir, Klaksvík and Árnafjørður	Borðoy	One of the pair of Tunlarnir norður um Fjall (or alternatively known as Borðoyartunlarnir). Single lane with passing places, unlit. Replaced footpaths and post boat services. To be replaced by a modern tunnel in 2024.
Hvannasundstunnilin	1967	2,120	6,960	Árnafjørður and Hvannasund/Norðdepil	Borðoy	One of the pair of Tunlarnir norður um Fjall (or alternatively known as Borðoyartunlarnir). Single lane with passing places, unlit. Replaced footpaths and post boat services. To be replaced by a modern tunnel in 2025.
Sandvíkartunnilin	1969	1,500	4,900	Sandvík and Hvalba	Suðuroy	Single lane with passing places, unlit. Replaced footpaths and post boat services.
Norðskálatunnilin	1976	2,520	8,270	Norðskáli and the valley of Millum Fjarða	Eysturoy	First two-lane tunnel. First road connection between Southern Eysturoy and Northern Eysturoy. Replaced the Hósvík-Selatrað ferry crossing.
Leynartunnilin	1977	760	2,490	Leynar and the valley of Kollafjarðardalur	Streymoy	Replaced an avalanche prone road.
Villingardalstunnilin	1979	1,193	3,914	The villages of Mikladalur and Húsar	Kalsoy	Southernmost of the five Kalsoy tunnels.
Ritudalstunnilin	1980	683	2,241	The villages of Mikladalur and Húsar	Kalsoy	One of the five Kalsoy tunnels. Single lane with passing places, unlit.
Mikladalstunnilin	1980	1,082	3,550	The villages of Mikladalur and Húsar	Kalsoy	One of the five Kalsoy tunnels. Single lane with passing places, unlit.
Trøllanestunnilin	1985	2,248	7,375	The villages of Trøllanes and Mikladalur	Kalsoy	Northernmost of the five Kalsoy tunnels. Single lane with passing places, unlit. Replaced a footpath, post boat service and helicopter service (1983-1985).
Teymur í Djúpadal	1979–85	220	720	The Trøllanestunnilin and the uninhabited valley of Djúpidalur	Kalsoy	One of the five Kalsoy tunnels. Effectively a branch of the Trøllanestunnilin to enable road access to pastures. Single lane, unlit.
Leirvíkartunnilin	1985	2,238	7,343	Leirvík and Gøta	Eysturoy	Replaced a cliffside road that now is a touristic route.
Kunoyartunnilin	1988	3,031	9,944	Kunoy and Haraldssund	Kunoy	Single lane with passing places, unlit. Replaced a ferry crossing.
Kollafjarðartunnilin	1992	2,816	9,239	Kollafjørður and Kaldbaksbotnur	Streymoy	Offers an alternative to the Oyrarvegurin mountain road, which is prone to icing and wind gusts in winter.
Sumbiartunnilin	1997	3,240	10,630	Sumba and Lopra	Suðuroy	Replaces a mountain pass that now is a touristic route.
Vágatunnilin	2002	4,940	16,210	Leynar and Fútaklett	Streymoy and Vágar	The first undersea tunnel. Replaced the Vestmanna-Vágar ferry.
Gásadalstunnilin	2006	1,445	4,741	Gásadalur and Bøur	Vágar	Single lane with passing places. Replaced the footpath and helicopter service.
Norðoyatunnilin	2006	6,186	20,295	Klaksvík and Leirvík	Eysturoy and Borðoy	Replaced the Leirvík-Klaksvík and Leirvík-Kalsoy-Klaksvík ferry.
Hovstunnilin	2007	2,435	7,989	Øravík and Hov	Suðuroy	Replaced the cliffside road that now is a touristic route.
Viðareiðistunnilin	2016	1,939	6,362	Viðareiði with Hvannasund	Viðoy	Replaced the coastal road, which is prone to landslides and avalanches, but remains open as a touristic route.
Eysturoyartunnilin	2020	11,200	36,700	Runavík and Strendur with Tórshavn	Streymoy and Eysturoy	Under Sundini and Skálafjørður. The tunnel has shortened the travel distance from Tórshavn to Runavík/Strendur from 55 kilometres to 17 kilometres. The 64-minute drive has been shortened to 17 minutes. The tunnel has the world's first under-sea roundabout at mid-bay.^[3]
Nýggi Hvalbiartunnilin	2021	2,500	8,200	Hvalba and Trongisvágur	Suðuroy	Dual lane, lit. Replaces the Old Hvalbiartunnilin from 1963.

Bridges and causeways

This list shows the longest Faroese bridges and causeways, listed by age:

Bridge	Year	Length m | ft		Connects	Island	Comments
Brúgvin um Streymin	1973	220	720	Oyrarbakki/Norðskáli and Nesvík	Streymoy and Eysturoy	Concrete bridge. Replaced the ferry crossing from Nesvík to Oyrarbakki.
Byrging um Hvannasund	1975	220	720	Hvannasund and Norðdepil	Borðoy and Viðoy	Causeway. Replaced post and milk boat services.
Byrging um Haraldssund	1986	350	1,150	Haraldssund and Strond	Borðoy and Kunoy	Causeway. Replaced post and milk boat services.   Causeway between Kunoy (left) and Borðoy (right).
Brúgvin um Sandá	2016	140	460	Argir and Tórshavn	Streymoy	The second longest bridge in the country.^[4]

Tunnels under construction

Tunnel	Year	Approx. length m | ft		Connects	Island	Comments
Sandoyartunnilin	Started in 2019, planned to open in December 2023^[5] ^[6]	10,800	35,400	Traðardalur and Gamlarætt	Streymoy and Sandoy	The tunnel starts just above the port of Gamlarætt and ends Traðardalur between Skopun and Sandur.
Dalstunnilin	Started in 2020, planned to open in 2023–2024	2,200	7,200	Dalur with Húsavík	Sandoy	To replace the narrow cliffside road. Drilling commenced 5 November 2020.^[7] On 17 November 2022 the halfway mark was passed.^[8] The tunnel is expected to open in 2024.
Nýggi Árnafjarðartunnilin	2024	1,961	6,434	Klaksvík, Ánir and Árnafjørður	Borðoy	One of the two Nýggir (new) Tunlarnir norður um Fjall (or alternatively Nýggir) Borðoyartunlarnir). Construction commenced in February 2021, the drilling itself started in November 2021.^[9]^[10] What will happen with the old tunnel remains unknown.
Nýggi Hvannasundstunnilin	2025	2,265	7,431	Árnafjørður and Norðdepil	Borðoy	One of the two new Tunlarnir norður um Fjall (also named Borðoyartunlarnir). Construction started in November 2021^[11]^[12]^[10] What will happen with the old tunnels remains unknown.
Fámjinstunnilin	Started in 2022, planned to open in 2024	1,200		Øravík with Fámjin	Suðuroy	Road access to Fámjin has been prone to fierce winds and icing. The tender for construction opened in July 2020.^[13] Construction commenced 25 July 2022 and is to be finished mid-2024.^[14]

Tunnels in preparation

Tunnel	Year	Approx. length m | ft		Connects	Island	Comments
Tunnil úr Villingadali	2025	1,300	4,265	Two neighbourhoods in Tórshavn	Streymoy	To be part of the Innkomuvegurin that is currently being developed between Tórshavn (near Hotel Føroyar), Hoyvík and Hvítanes. This entire bypass road is to be operational in 2025^[15]^[16]
Húsareynistunnilin	2025	2,300		Hvítanes and Hoyvík	Streymoy	To be part of the Innkomuvegurin that is currently being developed between Tórshavn (near Hotel Føroyar), Hoyvík and Hvítanes. This entire bypass road is to be operational in 2025^[15]^[17]

Proposed tunnels

Tunnel	Year	Approx. length m | ft		Connects	Island	Comments
Suðuroyartunnilin	Said to open in 2030.	25,000	82,000	Sandvík, Skúvoy and Sandur	Sandoy, Skúvoy and Suðuroy	The tunnel consists of two new tunnels and an upgrade of the Sandvíkartunnilin, which needs to be widened or replaced to allow interregional traffic.^[18]^[19]
Gøtudalstunnilin	unknown	0	0	Skálafjørður and Norðragøta	Eysturoy	To offer an alternative to the Gøtueiði mountain pass near Søldarfjørður, which is prone to icing and windgusts.^[20] Construction start planned 2026.^[21]
Vestmannatunnilin	unknown	0	0	Kvívík and Vestmanna	Streymoy	to replace the cliffside road, prone to icing and windgusts. Construction planned 2027.^[21]
Tunnilin á Vagum	unknown	0	0	Vágatunnilin and Vatnsoyrar	Vágar	A bypass for through-traffic between Sørvágur, the airport and Streymoy, bypassing Mið- and Sandavágur. Construction planned 2027 or later.^[21]
Gjáartunnilin	unknown	0	0	Gjógv with Funningur	Eysturoy	To replace the narrow mountain pass, prone to icing in winter.^[22]
Tjørnuvíkstunnilin	unknown	0	0	Tjørnuvík with Haldórsvík	Streymoy	To replace the narrow cliffside road.
Parkeringstunnil í Tórshavn	unknown	0	0	Tórshavn	Streymoy	A parking tunnel below the city centre, possibly 1,000 meters in length, as to relief on-street parking pressures.^[23]^[24]

Operator

Public works authority Landsverk operates the national road network including all land-based tunnels. The four sub-sea tunnels have each their own state-owned company brought together under the daily management of Tunnil.fo, which administers the tolls. These are paid by drivers at select petrol stations, via number plate recognition. Reduced fares are available for vehicles with a subscription (in Faroese: hald). Tórshavn Municipality owns the Sandá Bridge.^[25] A 2022 poll suggested continued support for toll charges.^[26]

See also

• Transport in the Faroe Islands

References

1. (in Faroese). Tórshavn: Landsverk. Archived from the original on 2 October 2015. Retrieved 1 October 2015.
2. (in Faroese). Tórshavn: Landsverk. Archived from the original on 29 December 2008. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
3. "The Eysturoy tunnel". estunlar.fo. Retrieved 19 November 2016.
4. "Brúgvin um Sandá – J&K Contractors".
5. "Framgongd við boring". tunnil.fo. 8 July 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
6. "Sandoyartunnilin gongur eftir ætlan". dagur.fo (in Faroese). Retrieved 2022-08-19.
7. "Lata fyrsta skotið av". dagur.fo (in Faroese). Retrieved 2020-11-05.
8. "Dalstunnilin – helvtin borað". www.landsverk.fo (in Faroese). Retrieved 2022-12-23.
9. "Loysa fyrsta flagið fyri tunlum". Kringvarp Føroya (in Faroese). Retrieved 2021-02-12.
10. "Gongdin fyri tunlarnar norður um Fjall". www.landsverk.fo (in Faroese). Retrieved 2021-12-22.
11. "Boringin byrjar í næstu viku". Kringvarp Føroya (in Faroese). Retrieved 2021-09-24.
12. "Fegnast um nýggjar tunlar". Kringvarp Føroya (in Faroese). Retrieved 2021-01-26.
13. "Bjóða tunlar út í juli".
14. "Vegagerðin til Fámjinstunnilin byrjað". www.landsverk.fo (in Faroese). Retrieved 2022-08-19.
15. "Kanna møguleika at gera tunnil ovarliga í Havn". www.in.fo. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
16. "Endiliga er avtalan um innkomuvegin undirskrivað". Tórshavnar kommuna (in Faroese). 3 June 2021. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
17. "Avtalan um innkomuveg og tunnil undirskrivað". Tórshavnar kommuna (in Faroese). 2022-12-21. Retrieved 2022-12-23.
18. "Suðuroy subsea tunnel research shows early promise". Kringvarp Føroya (in Faroese). 26 November 2018.
19. "Minister: Suðuroy tunnel ready in 2030". Kringvarp Føroya (in Faroese). 5 February 2020.
20. "Gøtudalstunnil".
21. "Farið verður undir tunnilin til Vestmanna í 2022".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
22. "Samferðsluætlanin 2018-2030".
23. "Fara nú undir at prosjektera parkeringstunnil undir Havnini".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
24. "Underground parking tunnel planned for Tórshavn".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
25. "Brúgvin um Sandá".
26. "Poll: tunnel toll charge should continue". Kringvarp Føroya (in Faroese). 7 May 2022.

External links

• Tunnil, the Operator of toll tunnels
• Landsverk, the operator of all other national highways