The incredible £111m tunnel that’s the world’s most remote infrastructure project | World | News
The second-longest subsea tunnel in the world delves deep beneath the North Atlantic Ocean, making it one of the world’s most remote infrastructure projects.
Costing an estimated £111.2 million (1 billion DKK), the Faroe Islands created Eysturoyartunnil to connect two of its most populous rocky volcanic islets in a harsh climate between Iceland and Norway.
The 6.9 mile subsea tunnel dives 189 metres(620 ft) below the North Atlantic Ocean at the lowest point.
Only the Ryfast tunnel at Stavanger in Norway is longer.
It’s an impressive feat of engineering considering the small population of the archipelago which is an autonomous region of Denmark and home to just over 53,000 people.
It stretches under the Atlantic from the capital Tórshavn on Streymoy island, before splitting off in two directions so residents can reach either Runavík or Strendur, both situated on the island Eysturoy.
It cuts down travel time between the capital Tórshavn and Runavík from 64 minutes to 16 minutes, so locals are more connected and travellers can easily visit the stunning Fjords.
The driving experience can even be enhanced by tuning into FM radio 97.00 which plays music composed by Faroese musicians and sound-engineers to accompany the ride.
The three tubes meet at an illuminated roundabout surrounding a giant central pillar of natural rock, left behind during the blasting constructions.
It features an 80-metre steel sculpture of figures holding hands, designed by a prominent Faroese artist, Tróndur Patursson.
He told the Guardian: “The figures are walking from darkness into the light. And they symbolise the very Faroese idea that by joining hands and working together we achieve great things.”
An advanced rain and wastewater system under the road drains water away from the carriageway to the lowest point in the tunnel, where large bar pumps send the water back to the surface and out into Skálafjørður fjord.
The Faroe Islands, a series of 18 islets in the North Atlantic located halfway between Iceland and Norway, constitute an autonomous region of Denmark.
