Eysturoyartunnilin

Eysturoy Tunnel

Useful Information

Location:	Tórshavn, Faroe Islands (62.04431314108319, -6.779482153457231)
Open:	no restrictions. [2022]
Fee:	free. [2022]
Classification:	Tunnel
Light:	Incandescent Electric Light System
Dimension:	L=11 km, A=189 m below sea level.
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:
Address:	Eysturoyartunnilin,
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

2020	opened to the traffic.

Description

The Eysturoyartunnilin (Eysturoy Tunnel) connects actually three locations separated by two fjords. Or it connects two islands. Depens on your viewpoint. The first location is Hvítanes on the largest Faroe Island Streymoy, the second and third location are Saltnes and Strendur, both on Eysturoy, the second-largest island, but separated by a long fjord. The Skálafjørður and the Funnings fjørður are together 19 km long, only a 6 km long land bridge connect the two parts of the island. The tunnel thus replaces actually three ferries. Or compared with the long drive around the fjord it cutts down travel time between Tórshavn and Runavík from over an hour to around 16 minutes.

However, it's not easy to build a tunnel with three entrances, a tube normally has two. The engineers solved the problem as simple as possible: they built a roundabout where the three ends of the tunnel meet. It is actually the first undersea roundabout in the world, most likely the only one. What better place for modern art? The chamber is stabilized by a central pilar, which is surrounded by a sculpture created by local Faroese artist Tróndur Patursson. A piece of steel was shaped to represent people participating in a traditional Faroese chain dance. The artwork is completed by light, coloured light at the ceiling, dominated by a blue sky. The tunnels are colour coded in yellow, green and light blue, the central pillar is surrounded by dark blue sky with clouds, the people dance around a fire burning red. Even the music is there: there is a radio station for inside the tunnel at 97.0, it plays the music composed especially for this unique driving experience. And of course it is used for warnings in case of emergency or traffic jam.

Several islands of Faroer are pretty close together. Two northern islands were thus connected by bridges. The other big island are connected by tunnels, which is much less depending on the weather, which may be quite harsch in winter. Also, there is no restriction for ships, if the connection is underground. The first tunnel opened in 2002 was Vágatunnilin (Vágar Tunnel), which connects the islands of Vágar and Streymoy. In 2006 Norðoyartunnilin (the Northern Isles Tunnel) followed, which the islands Eysturoy and Borðoy. Eysturoyartunnilin was the third and Sandoyartunnilin, the fourth connecting the islands of Streymoy and Sandoy, is under construction. When it is completed all bigger islands are connected by road. Only the island Suðuroy is located 16 km off, but who knows?