LAERDAL TUNNEL

Tolynbekova Galima Amangeldievna

connecting Laerdal and Aurland in Sogn og Fjordane, Norway and located approximately

175–200 kilometres (109–124 mi) north-east of Bergen. It is the longest road tunnel in the world succeeding the Swiss Gotthard Road Tunnel. The tunnel carries two lanes of European Route E16 and represents the final link on the new main highway connecting Oslo and Bergen without ferry connections and difficult mountain crossings during winter.
In 1975, the Parliament of Norway decided that the main road between Oslo and Bergen would run via Filefjell. In 1992, Parliament confirmed that decision, made the further decision that the road should run through a tunnel between Laerdal and Aurland, and passed legislation to build the tunnel. Construction started in 1995 and the tunnel opened in 2000. It cost 1.082 billion Norwegian.

from the tunnel during its construction from 1995 to 2000. The

tunnel begins just east of Aurlandsvangen in Aurland and goes through a mountain range and ends 5.5 kilometres south of Lærdalsøyri in Lærdal. The design of the tunnel takes into consideration the mental strain on drivers, so the tunnel is divided into four sections, separated by three large mountain caves at 6-kilometre intervals. While the main tunnel has white lights, the caves have blue lighting with yellow lights at the fringes to give an impression of sunrise. The caves are meant to break the routine, providing a refreshing view and allowing drivers to take a short rest. The caverns are also used as turn around points and for break areas to help lift claustrophobia during a 20-minute drive through the tunnel. To keep drivers from being inattentive or falling asleep, each lane is supplied with a loud rumble strip towards the centre.

accidents and/or fire, many safety precautions have been made. There

are emergency phones marked "SOS" every 250 metres which can contact the police, fire departments, and hospitals. Fire extinguishers have been placed every 125 metres. Whenever an emergency phone in the tunnel is used or a fire extinguisher is lifted, stop lights and electronic signs reading: snu og køyr ut (English: turn and exit) are displayed throughout the tunnel and 2 other electronic signs on both sides of the entrance reading: tunnelen stengt (English: Tunnel closed). There are 15 turning areas which were constructed for buses and semi-trailers. In addition to the three large caverns, emergency niches have been built every 500 metres. There are photo inspections and counting of all vehicles that enter and exit the tunnel at security centres in Lærdal and Bergen. There is also special wiring in the tunnel for the use of radio and mobile phones. Speed cameras have been installed because of serious speeding.

and fabulous trolls, but also tunnels. There are tens of

thousands of them: “spiral”, with roundabouts, intersections, traffic intersections in the rock, caves, panoramic views of the cliffs. But it will be a question of the longest not only in Scandinavia, but also all over the world - the Laerdal road tunnel. Its length is 24.5 km. Construction took five years, and the cost was about 113 million euros.