text: nordhordland bridge the nordhordland bridge ( norwegian : ) is a combined cable - stayed and pontoon bridge which crosses salhusfjorden between and flatøy in hordaland , norway . it is 1 , 614 meters ( 5 , 295 ft ) long , of which the pontoon section is 1 , 246 meters ( 4 , 088 ft ) long . the cable - stayed section consists of a single 99 - meter ( 325 ft ) tall h - pylon which has a length of 368 meters ( 1 , 207 ft ) and a main span of 172 meters ( 564 ft ) . this allows for a clearance of 32 meters ( 105 ft ) . the floating section is a steel box girder bridge with ten pontoons , which because of the fjord 's depth are not laterally anchored . the roadway sits on an orthotropic deck . the pontoons and the cable - stayed bridge are built in concrete , with the main span being supported with 48 cables . the fjord end of the main span is supported by a 30 - meter ( 98 ft ) deep foundation , where the two bridges meet . from there and for 414 meters ( 1 , 358 ft ) , the has a 5 . 7 percent gradient on a viaduct anchored to the pontoon bridge . the bridge carries two lanes of european route e39 , also called the coastal highway , and one pedestrian and bicycle path , and connects the district of nordhordland to bergen . plans for a bridge had existed since the 1960s , and after the decision to construct the bridge was passed by the parliament of norway in 1989 , construction started in 1991 . total costs , including auxiliary roads , was nok 910 million . part of the contract payment was subject to a court case which the contractors lost . the bridge opened on 22 september 1994 , and remained a toll road until 31 december 2005 . in 2014 , it had an average daily traffic of 16 , 580 vehicles . there are plans to reinstate a toll on the bridge from 2013 to finance other road projects . the bridge is the second - longest in norway , and the second pontoon bridge in norway . specifications the bridge consists of three sections , a cable - stayed bridge , a pontoon bridge and a viaduct which connects the two . the cable - stayed bridge consists of a 99 . 3 - meter ( 326 ft ) tall h - pylon with a foundation at on the mainland of bergen . it supports a 172 - meter ( 564 ft ) main span , with the other end being fixed in a foundation 30 - meter ( 98 ft ) below mean sea level , which is anchored in the ridge . the whole cable - stayed bridge is 369 meters ( 1 , 211 ft ) long , with a 190 - meter ( 620 ft ) long viaduct , supported by six pairs of pillars . the cable - stayed bridge allows for a sailing channel which is 32 meters ( 105 ft ) tall and 50 meters ( 160 ft ) wide . the main span is built in lightweight concrete , while the viaduct and pylon is built with conventional concrete . inside the pylons is a 1 . 6 by 2 . 0 meters ( 5 ft 3 in by 6 ft 7 in ) hollow area . the bridge has 48 cables , 12 on each side of the pylon on each side of the roadway . the distance between the cables is 12 . 00 meters ( 39 . 37 ft ) on the main span , and 9 . 33 meters ( 30 . 6 ft ) on the viaduct . combined , the cables are 4 , 432 meters ( 14 , 541 ft ) long ; each cable consists of 67 to 230 twined cables , each with a 7 - millimeter ( 0 . 28 in ) diameter . the cables have a weight of between 1 . 5 and 14 . 5 tonnes ( 1 . 5 and 14 . 3 long tons ; 1 . 7 and 16 . 0 short tons ) each , and they have a capacity of between 1 , 960 and 7 , 910 kilonewtons ( 440 , 000 and 1 , 780 , 000 lbf ) . they can be tightened at the connection with the . the floating section consists of a steel box girder placed on top of ten floating pontoons . the pontoon section is anchored only at both ends , on the underwater foundation at and on flatøy . it is fastened using flexible plate connections fastened by bolts and cables under tension . these are flexible around the horizontal axis at right angles towards the axis of the bridge , allowing for deformation caused by the tide . the fastening on flatøy consists of a massive concrete block 22 by 20 meters ( 72 by 66 ft ) long and 14 . 5 meters ( 48 ft ) tall which was poured into a blast - out foundation pit in bedrock . vertical pretension rock anchors have also been installed , with 12 at and 14 at flatøy , giving 42 and 44 ( 9 , 400 , 000 and 9 , 900 , 000 lbf ) of support , although they were only built to increase the safety factor . there are ten lightweight concrete pontoons , with 113 . 25 - meter ( 371 . 6 ft ) spans between them . the pontoons are between 7 . 0 and 8 . 6 meters ( 23 . 0 and 28 . 2 ft ) in height . the draught varies between 4 . 3 to 5 . 6 meters ( 14 to 18 ft ) . each pontoon consists of nine watertight cells which are partially filled with ballast for trim . the cells are dimensioned so two adjacent cells can fill with water without endangering the bridge . the roadway lies on top of an orthotropic deck on a steel box girder , which is 15 . 9 meters ( 52 ft ) wide , 5 . 50 meters ( 18 . 0 ft ) tall and 1 , 246 meters ( 4 , 088 ft ) long . the steel box girder weighs 14 , 150 tonnes ( 13 , 930 long tons ; 15 , 600 short tons ) , of which 3 , 000 tonnes ( 3 , 000 long tons ; 3 , 300 short tons ) is high - strength low - alloy steel . the girder has an octagonal shape and is made with 14 - to - 20 - millimeter ( 0 . 55 to 0 . 79 in ) thick steel plates . they are longitudinally stiffened by trapezoidal stiffeners supported by cross frames at most every 4 . 5 meters ( 15 ft ) . two full bulkheads have been used for every pontoon pilaster , made from welded steel plates 8 to 50 millimeters ( 0 . 31 to 1 . 97 in ) thick . external brackets built into the bulkheads transfer the support forces to the pontoons . the girder was built in sections of 21 , 36 , and 42 meters ( 69 , 118 , and 138 ft ) , which were subsequently welded together into 11 modules with a skew angle of 1 . 2 to 1 . 3 degrees . the girder has a constant cross - section throughout the length , except at the anchoring points to the pontoons . the section from the land anchoring to the first pontoon is subject to the most stress , and is made with steel with a higher yield point . the inside of the girder has two dehumidifiers which ensure that it does not rust . the clearance under the girder is 5 . 5 meters ( 18 ft ) . the two bridges are connected with a 414 . 5 - meter ( 1 , 360 ft ) long steel viaduct , which runs on top of the floating bridge , bringing the road from 11 . 0 to 34 . 4 meters ( 36 . 1 to 112 . 9 ft ) above mean sea level . the viaduct weighs 1 , 600 tonnes ( 1 , 600 long tons ; 1 , 800 short tons ) and has a gradient of 5 . 7 degrees . it consists of spans between 18 and 33 meters ( 59 and 108 ft ) , with the roadway also built as an orthotropic deck with 12 - millimeter ( 0 . 47 in ) thick plates . overall , the construction of the bridge used 24 , 000 tonnes ( 24 , 000 long tons ; 26 , 000 short tons ) of concrete , of which 10 , 000 tonnes ( 9 , 800 long tons ; 11 , 000 short tons ) in the pontoons . the bridge was coated with 40 , 000 litres ( 8 , 800 imp gal ; 11 , 000 us gal ) of paint . the bridge is monitored by 132 sensors , including sensors on hatches to the pontoons , on doors to the steel box girder , for corrosion , strain gauges on the girder and on flexible elements , and weather information . on the cable - stayed section , the bridge is marked with navigation lights , as well as the center of the sailing area having a . the bridge is the second - longest bridge in norway , behind the drammen bridge . history planning ship services in nordhordland started in 1866 , and in 1923 the first car was purchased . a car ferry service between in lindås and in åsane on the mainland was established on 7 july 1936 . a plan was launched whereby all traffic from nordhordland would be collected in one place and transported across salhusfjorden to åsane . by moving the ferry quay from to knarvik , the length of the ferry service could be reduced . however , the fares would be kept the same and the extra revenue used to finance a bridge from flatøy to lindås . this allowed the alversund bridge to open in 1958 , and the ferry service from flatøy and meland to move to knarvik . the proposal to cross salhusfjorden was launched during the planning of the alversund bridge . cost estimates were made based on the golden gate bridge in the united states , but it proved too expensive for a suspension bridge crossing between and salhus . in 1962 , the issue was brought up again , this time as a pontoon bridge . the depth and steepness of the fjord would make it impossible to fasten the bridge to the sea bottom . however , a method without lateral anchorage had been developed for the hobart bridge in australia . another alternative was launched in 1963 , involving a submerged floating tunnel through the fjord . it was estimated to cost between nok 19 . 5 and 26 million . norwegian expatriate leif j. sverdrup , co - founder of sverdrup & parcel of the united states , inspected the fjord in 1965 and was later hired to plan the bridge in cooperation with oslo - based civil engineering consultants . municipal engineers started measuring currents in 1966 . and sverdrup & parcel recommended a pontoon bridge with a movable section to allow passage of ship traffic . in 1967 , a new proposal was launched , in which a seaway tunnel would be blasted out in the rock on the bergen side . the alversund bridge was a toll bridge which was paying for the debt accumulated in its construction . by 1968 , the debt would be paid off , but the norwegian public roads administration launched a plan whereby the tolls would continue to be collected and used to finance a bridge across salhusfjorden . this was opposed by a group of locals , who brought the issue to the courts , claiming it to be illegal , as a bridge would never be built . both oslo district court and eidsivating court of appeal concluded that the tolls were legal , and the issue was rejected by the supreme court . protests were also raised against the use of a pontoon bridge , as it would limit the vessel size and thus the commercial development in the inner parts of the fjord . in the 1970s , national road 1 ( today part of e39 ) was established through knarvik towards sognefjorden , resulting in upgrades to the roads in nordhordland , and making the crossing one of the main routes from the north . at the same time , it was decided to establish a refinery at in lindås . in 1971 , details about the suspension bridge were again discussed , with three different proposals with the main span of between 1 , 090 and 1 , 210 meters ( 3 , 580 and 3 , 970 ft ) with 160 - meter ( 520 ft ) tall pylons . there were protests from the salhus area , as the suspension bridge would have resulted in the demolishing of part of the residential area . in 1972 , discussion started with the plans to connect meland , flatøy and with bridges . this was passed by the parliament of norway in may 1975 , and consisted of the bridge between flatøy and meland , which opened in november 1978 . the bridge opened on 1 april 1982 and connected flatøy to lindås and knarvik , thus also connecting meland and lindås . both bridges were partially financed with tolls . the plans for a pontoon bridge were presented to the standing committee on transport and communications on 31 march 1981 . they supported the choice of a pontoon bridge . the decision to construct the bridge was taken by parliament on 9 december 1987 , but they demanded that a larger ship channel be constructed . detailed planning started in march 1990 , and at first two technical methods for constructing the pontoon bridge were considered : a continuous concrete floating caisson between the abutments , and a steel version incorporating a truss bridge carrying concrete pontoons . however , they were both rejected in favor of a concrete or steel box section borne on concrete pontoons . construction design of the bridge was awarded to aas - jakobsen and det norske veritas , the former who also performed dynamic analysis and structural engineering . architects were – sundt – , lund & , and lund & . an h pylon was chosen instead of an a pylon both because it was more functional , and would be more aesthetic in conjunction with the other bridges in the area , particularly three suspension bridges . the technology for the bridge was based on recent technology for pontoon bridges combined with norwegian offshore technology . among the technologies initially considered , but later ruled out , was that used in the homer m. hadley memorial bridge and the hood canal bridge in the united states . instead , an orthotropic deck was chosen , such as the bridge had used . the choice of a box girder bridge and the orthotropic deck were chosen because it gave the lower material use . conventional pontoon bridges have lateral anchorage systems which fasten the bridge to the seabed . the technique had previously been used down to 140 meters ( 460 ft ) , but salhusfjorden is 500 meters ( 1 , 600 ft ) deep , making the method prohibitively expensive . the choice of a cable - stayed section allowed reduced traffic hazards in storms , a reduction in corrosion on the bridge deck , and improved passage of water beneath the bridge in support of wildlife . the contract for construction of the pontoon bridge was awarded in august 1991 to a consortium , salhus bru , which consisted of norwegian contractors , aker entreprenør , veidekke and kværner eureka . the components were built in moss and fredrikstad and then shipped to , a branch of which was suitable to connect the parts . there were problems welding the high - strength low - alloy steel , which resulted in the work being halted for several days before an agreement was reached between the contractor and the public roads administration . on 26 january 1994 , the steel frame which would be used to fasten the pontoon bridge to the cable - stayed bridge , came adrift during transport in skagerrak , and was severely damaged , causing a delay in the project . as the bridge had the longest laterally unsupported span in the world , the construction was watched by many international delegations . the construction of the tunnel also involved other investments in road infrastructure . this included 5 . 7 kilometers ( 3 . 5 mi ) of new highways , 4 . 2 kilometers ( 2 . 6 mi ) of local roads , and the 785 - meter ( 2 , 575 ft ) long tunnel just south of the bridge . a grade - separated crossing was built on both sides of the bridge . the intersection on flatøy was also built as a bus interchange , and became the terminus of many bus routes in nordhordland . express buses would from there run directly to the city center of bergen . the bridge project cost nok 910 million , of which nok 513 was for the pontoon bridge , nok 81 million was for the cable - stayed bridge , nok 25 million was used for the waterway , nok 115 million was used on planning , and nok 176 million was used on auxiliary roads and the tunnel . the bridge was financed with nok 41 million in state grants , nok 139 million from tolls paid in advance , and nok 730 million in debt which would be repaid by the tolls . interest during construction cost nok 138 million . the construction involved 1 , 150 , 000 man - hours . aftermath the use of high - strength steel caused problems as it was necessary to heat the steel to 150 ° c ( 302 ° f ) before and after welding , and kværner had problems finding an adequate process during late 1992 . in january 1993 , an appropriate process had been found , although experimentation with various methods continued for another six months . kværner felt that the public roads administration should bear the extra costs , demanding nok 108 million in compensation , but the administration denied this , resulting in a lawsuit . on 26 january 1996 , nordhordland district court supported the administration , but gave the plaintiff partial support , claiming the administration should take part of the costs through improper choice of material . the public roads administration was sentenced to pay nok 34 million to kværner . both sides appealed to gulating court of appeal , which on 18 february 1998 refuted all of kværner 's claim regarding the steel boxes , and sentenced the administration to pay nok 7 . 5 million . in addition , kværner had to pay the administration nok 19 . 5 million in penalties for overrunning the contract date . however , the court 's decision was not unanimous . the plaintiff appealed to case to the supreme court , who unanimously confirmed the ruling of gulating court of appeal . in addition , the plaintiff was sentenced to pay the defendants legal costs of nok 910 , 000 . the bridge was officially opened by king harald v on 22 september 1994 . it was the second pontoon bridge in norway , after the bridge which opened in 1992 . the last tolls were collected on 31 december 2005 . in 2008 , there were 19 , 700 travelers on the bridge each day , 14 percent of which used public transport . in 2009 , the bridge had an average daily traffic ( adt ) of 14 , 698 vehicles , up from in 2000 . following the removal of the tolls , the adt increased from in 2005 to in 2006 . in 2010 , the bridge was one of twelve finalists in teknisk ukeblad 's competition for the most beautiful bridge in norway . in december 2010 , bergen city council approved the nordhordland package , which would result in nok 3 . 8 billion being used on road investments in åsane and nordhordland . two - thirds of the financing is to come from tolls , which will involve reinstalling a toll plaza on the bridge . the tolls will first be set to nok 20 for five years , and then after the completion of the first stage , the toll will be nok 40 for fifteen years . the toll plaza is scheduled to reopen in 2013 . among the projects is a new four - lane nyborg tunnel which will shorten the distance of e39 from the bridge with the motorway at nyborg in bergen .