Norway highway Tunnels bridges Bridges & Highways road Construction

Norwegian Public Roads Administration awards €1 billion highway contract

*The highway's route as presented by the Norwegian Public Road Administration (image from tungt.no)*

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) has awarded the contract for the construction of the €1 billion E10/rv85 Tjeldsund-Gullesfjordbotn-Langvassbukt highway to a Skanska-led consortium.

Furthermore, the contract, which was awarded in late April, includes design and construction of the project as well as operation and maintenance for 15 years after completion, through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) procurement method.

The project will be located in northern Norway and is scheduled to consist of 82 kilometers of road, 22 new bridges and 7 new tunnels. It will reduce travel time by about 40 minutes, translating to 30 km, and improve transport safety.

As far as the budget is concerned, the total cost for the construction is estimated at about NOK 11.3 billion, roughly €1 billion, while the operation and maintenance parts are estimated at NOK 1 billion.

Finally, preparatory works are scheduled to start early this summer and the total construction phase is to last about 5.5 years.

Sources: group.skanska.com, constructionreviewonline.com, www.construction-europe.com