Rogfast
Rogaland Fixed Link or simply the Rogfast is a sub-sea road tunnel under construction between the municipalities of Randaberg (near the city of Stavanger) and Bokn in Rogaland county, Norway. The project will be a world record with respect to its 27-kilometre (17 mi) length and its maximum depth of 392 metres (1,286 ft) below sea level. This will be a part of the main European route E39 highway along the west coast of Norway and it will link the cities of Kristiansand – Stavanger – Haugesund – Bergen.[1]
 | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Location | Rogaland, Norway |
| Coordinates | 59°04′26″N 5°27′19″E |
| Status | Construction halted October 2019 |
| Route |  E39 |
| Start | Randaberg |
| End | Bokn |
| Operation | |
| Work begun | 4 January 2018, halted October 2019, restart autumn 2021 (Nov 2020 plan) |
| Opens | 2031 (Nov 2020 plan) |
| Operator | Norwegian Public Roads Administration |
| Toll | yes |
| Technical | |
| Length | 27 kilometres (17 mi) |
| Lowest elevation | −392 metres (−1,286 ft) |
Original plan: 2017
The tunnel is planned as a 27-kilometre (17 mi) long roadway which will run below the Boknafjorden and Kvitsøyfjorden. A spur connection tunnel to the island municipality of Kvitsøy is included in the project.
The project was approved by the Storting (Norwegian Parliament) in May 2017, and it was planned to be finished in 2025–26.[2] At that time, the project was projected to cost NOK16.8 billion (about €1.73 billion),[3] with financing set at NOK11 billion from a loan to be paid by tolls, and 6 billion directly from the government.
Construction began in January 2018, with a ceremony for the initial rock blasting for one future entrance to the tunnel.[4]
Project halt and updated plans: 2019–2020
In October 2019, due to cost overruns predicted in budgetary updates, the project was halted, with all plans for issuing of contracts (the project was being contracted out in stages) cancelled. In December 2019, the government requested a full review and revised budget update.[5]
The first public awareness of higher costs had occurred in July 2019, when the Norwegian Public Roads Administration announced that it had received only two bids on the contract for the spur connection tunnel to Kvitsøy, the lowest of which was NOK1 billion higher than the amount approved by the Storting in 2017.[6] In September 2019, the Kvitsøy bidding process was closed without granting a contract.[6] An update in November 2019 suggested that the earliest possible completion of the project would be in 2029.[7]
By April 2020, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration's revised update estimated that the cost of the total project (including the Kvitsøy spur) had increased to NOK25 billion, an increase of NOK6.4 billion, but stated it believed there were savings of up to NOK4 billion to be found before it would submit a revised funding request to the government.[8]
In October 2020, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration brought its revised plan to the government for consideration.[9] Included was the intention to divide the entire project into four contracts, with the comprehensive bidding process for the first three contracts to start in 2021, for work to be commence in late 2021 and early 2022.[9] These three contracts will cover: the Kvitsøy tunnel segment; the long tunnel segment building north from Randaberg; and the long tunnel segment building south from Bokn.[9] The fourth contract, completing the interchange tunnels connecting the Kvitsøy tunnel to the other two, will go to bidding when the Kvitsøy tunnel is completed.[9] The interconnection, allowing the Rogfast to open, is now forecast to be completed in 2031.[9]
In late November 2020, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration received new approval from the government for a revised budget of NOK24.8 billion (contrary to the April 2020 "hope" of reducing it to NOK21 billion), an increase of roughly NOK8 billion from the budget approved in 2017.[10] The government agreed to increase its direct contribution to NOK9.9 billion, with the remaining NOK14.9 billion to be financed by borrowing that would be repaid by tolls charged to vehicles using the Rogfast; this constituted matching NOK3.9 billion increases on both the government contribution and the toll-based loan.[10]
Name
The name Rogfast is an abbreviation for the Norwegian name Rogaland fastforbindelse which is translated to English as the "Rogaland fixed link".
See also
References
- Myrset, Ola. "Oppstart for kjerneboring i Boknafjorden". Stavanger Aftenbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2015-10-27.
- Lien, Marthe S. (2018-01-04). "I dag starter byggingen på gigantprosjektet til 16,8 milliarder" [Today construction starts on the giant 16.8 billion project]. Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2018-11-01.
- "Fakta" (in Norwegian). Norwegian Public Roads Administration. Retrieved 2018-11-01.
- "Her smeller startskuddet for gigant-tunnelen" [Starting Shot for Giant Tunnel]. Motor (in Norwegian). Norwegian Automobile Federation. 2018-01-06. Retrieved 2020-12-26.
- Ellingsen, Øystein; Kalstad, Lise Marit; Stokka, Magnus (2019-12-19). "Startar full gjennomgang av gigantisk vegprosjekt" [Full Review Starts on Giant Road Project]. NRK (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2020-12-26.
- Lien, Marthe S. (2019-09-20). "Statens vegvesen avlyser Rogfast-kontrakt" [The Norwegian Public Roads Administration cancels Rogfast contract]. Verdens Gang (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2020-12-26.
- "Rogfast tidligst ferdig i 2029" [Rogfast not to be finished until 2029 at the earliest]. E24 Næringsliv (including material from a Stavanger Aftenblad article) (in Norwegian). 2019-11-08. Retrieved 2020-08-08.
- Amundsen, Bjørn Olav (2020-04-29). "Statens vegvesen avlyser Rogfast-kontrakt" [The Norwegian Public Roads Administration on Rogfast: Over 4 billion can be cut]. Våre veger (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2020-12-26.
- "Rogfast til Stortinget i desember" [Rogfast goes back to the Storting in December]. Haugesundregionens Næringsforening [Haugesund Region Business Association] (in Norwegian). 2020-10-21. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- Akhtar, Syed Ali Shahbaz; Oftedahl, Cathrine; Morsund, Gunnar (2020-11-20). "Regjeringen klar for å gå videre med Rogfast" [The Government is Ready to Move Forward with Rogfast]. NRK (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2020-12-26.