– Today’s regulations and practice make Norwegian tunnels unnecessarily expensive, says Marius Slinde, project manager at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. Together with a group of experts, he has looked at how one can save 5.4 billion by building tunnels in a simple, but perfectly good way. They have looked at the 20 road projects that are on the Road Administration’s priority list, where 233 kilometers of new tunnels are to be built. 20 prioritized tunnel projects at the State Road Administration E134 Oslofjord connection, construction stage 2 – 9.4 km Rv. 4 Grua – Roa – 1.2 km E134 Røldal – Seljestad – 12.7 km E6 Megården-Mørsvikbotn – 23.5 km E16 Hylland – Slæn – 6.3 km E39 Vik – Molde – 24.3 km E16 Arna – Stanghelle and Vossebanen – 8.8 km + 19.0 km E45 Kløfta – 4.2 km Rv. 7 Ørgenvika – Kittilsvik – 1.3 km E6 Ulvsvågskaret – 3.7 km E39 Ådland – Svegatjørn (Hordfast) – 19 km E134 Dagslett – E18, Viker – 4.4 km E39 Storehaugen – Førde – 7.5 km E39 Bjerkeset – Astad – 1.4 km E39 Klakegg – Byrkjelo – 4.0 km E39 Ringvei ost, Vågsbotn – Klauvaneset – 5.3 km E10 Nappstraumen – Å – 1.7 km E39 Volda – Furene – 3.5 km E18 Retvet – Vinterbro – 2 .4 km E8 Airport tunnel Tromsø incl. F2 link – 2.5 km Head of development in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Kjell Inge Davik, believes the expert group has done an important job. – We must build many miles of tunnel in the future to make the road network safer in Norway, and to ensure better access on the national and county roads. Then it is important not to build the tunnels more complicated than necessary. Director of development in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Kjell Inge Davik, believes that today’s tunnels are being built more complicated than they should be. Photo: Jon Bolstad / news 38 measures The working group with experienced tunnel workers from all over the country has assessed 38 different measures. These are some of the measures with the greatest economic effect: Reduce the thickness of concrete elements (reduction of NOK 574 million). Narrower road shoulders for tunnels with moderate traffic (reduction of NOK 1 billion). Open for the use of shotcrete over PE foam/membrane in tunnels with relatively high traffic (reduction of NOK 1.1 billion). Assess new solutions for firefighting (reduction of NOK 874 million). Another important measure that the working group has looked at is the late payment interest that is used in the contracts with the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. A reduction from 8 percentage points (+ Norges Bank’s policy rate) to 4 percentage points will mean that fewer contractors take disputes to court, which could save NOK 1.8 billion in tunnel projects. A reduction will mean that they can enter into contracts on the same lines as Nye vegar AS and Bane Nor SF. Together with an expert group, Marius Slinde in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration has looked at several measures that could make new tunnels cheaper. Photo: Statens vegvesen Strong emissions reduction The tunnel group has also assessed how new tunnels can cut climate emissions. One measure in particular greatly cuts the emission of CO₂: By reducing the thickness of the concrete elements from 15 to 12 centimetres, it is possible to use one reinforcing mesh instead of two. This will cut emissions by 65,000 tonnes of CO₂. – If you also use stainless steel, we increase the lifespan of the tunnel walls from 50 to 100 years, says Slinde. Five of the measures can be carried out without changing the current regulations for the construction of tunnels. Seven of the measures will require rule changes. Praises the initiative County mayor in Vestland Jon Askeland praises the work done by the road service. – Road projects are terribly expensive, and if you get lower costs, there is a greater chance that more projects will be carried out, says Askeland. Even if the use of concrete and reinforcing mesh is reduced, the expert group believes that it will be just as safe to drive through the tunnels. – We must avoid solutions that give marginal gains, so that there is room to realize other projects more quickly, says Slinde.
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Smarter tunnel construction will save the state billions – news Vestland
