text: bømlafjord tunnel the bømlafjord tunnel ( norwegian : ) is a subsea road tunnel under bømlafjorden which connects the island of føyno in stord to the mainland at dalshovda in sveio , norway . the tunnel is 7 . 82 kilometers ( 4 . 86 mi ) long and reaches 260 . 4 m ( 854 ft ) below mean sea level . it carries three lanes of european road e39 and is part of the triangle link , a fixed link which connects sunnhordland to . plans for the tunnel arose in the 1980s ; construction started in 1997 and the tunnel opened on 27 december 2000 . the tunnel was built using the drilling and blasting method , with two teams building from each end . the tunnel runs through an area composed mostly of gneiss , phyllite and greenstone . the tunnel is the longest subsea tunnel in norway and was the second - deepest in the world until 2008 . it is still ( 2013 ) the deepest point on the e - road network . the tunnel was a toll road from the opening until 30 . april 2013 . in 2012 the tunnel had an average 4 , 084 vehicles per day . planning the background for the triangle link was the desire to have a fixed link between the islands of stord and bømlo . the first documented proposals were made in the 1960s and involved building a pontoon bridge across stokksundet . following the 1982 opening of the vardø tunnel — the first subsea tunnel in norway — engineer finn proposed a fixed link between the two islands . it would have crossed digernessundet on a suspension bridge and continued along a causeway and low bridge onwards to a 2 . 2 - kilometer - long ( 1 . 4 mi ) subsea tunnel under spissøysundet and a low bridge over gassasundet . in addition , a 7 . 5 - kilometer ( 4 . 7 mi ) long tunnel would have been built from føyno to in sveio . the company johannes sørlie launched an all - tunnel proposal in 1985 , estimated to cost 700 million norwegian krone ( nok ) and which would have resulted in 18 kilometers ( 11 mi ) of subsea tunnel connecting bømlo , stord and the mainland . an inter - municipal committee was positive to the proposals , while josef martinsen , director of hordaland public roads administration , stated that the project was unrealistic . the limited company ytre sunnhordland bru- og tunnelselskap as ( sbt ) was founded in october 1986 by the municipal authorities of bømlo , stord , fitjar and sveio , hordaland county municipality and five banks . in december 1986 , the public roads administration recommended a bridge . a report published by sbt in 1987 considered detailed plans for a subsea tunnel to the mainland , which was followed up by seismic surveys in the fjord . sbt changed its name to sunnhordland bru- og tunnelselskap , and a majority of the board shifted towards being in favor of a fixed link . the norwegian coastal administration stated that they would not allow a pontoon bridge , as it would interfere with ship traffic . on 26 june 1987 , sbt 's board decided to work towards getting permission to collect advanced tolls on the ferry services . on 16 september , they unanimously supported the triangular proposal , which was estimated to cost nok 660 million . this was criticized by hordaland public roads administration , who stated that it would take longer time to plan , and thus complete , the triangle link . from 1988 , environmental groups started opposing the triangle link . the most active was the local chapter of the norwegian society for the conservation of nature , who stated that the road would have a negative impact for local boat traffic to the recreational islands of føyno and nautøy . they therefore recommended that the municipalities select a pontoon bridge . another opponent to the project was the action committee against a hasty construction of the triangle link , who wanted to delay the decision until after the 1991 municipal elections to ensure that the municipal councils had backing in the public . also gisle tjong , a local citizen , opposed the project , stating that the risk was too large and that it was uncertain how long the tolls would last . he argued that the tolls could just as well last 60 as 15 years . instead , he wanted to use advanced tolls and fuel fees , place the income in the bank and then pay the whole fixed link with the saved - up funds . most of the opposition against the project was from stord , while in bømlo there was near consensus in favor of the project . the exception was in southern , where there was concerns that their ferry service to the mainland would be terminated , which would result in considerably longer driving time to haugesund . concerns were also raised regarding people with fear of tunnels and proposals were made to keep a ferry service for such people . the triangle link was passed by the various municipal councils in february and march 1988 . hordaland public roads administration still supported a pontoon bridge , and stated that two and a half years of work on a master plan had been wasted . a new master plan for the triangle link was published in early 1989 . it recommended that the langevåg – buavåg ferry , which connected to southern bømlo , remain , but that the other four ferry services be terminated . during late 1989 , advance tolls on the ferries was approved by the municipal councils and the county council , who recommended that collection start from 1 july 1990 . however , the start date was not supported by the national government and the issue placed on hold . in july 1992 , the master plan was passed by the council of state . on 10 december 1992 , parliament approved advanced payment of tolls on the ferry , which were made effective from 1 january 1993 . ticket prices increased with between nok 10 and 12 . this resulted in protests from the ferry employees who stated that they would have to collect the tolls which would remove their jobs ; norwegian seafarers ' union representatives stated that they considered suing the state . work on the development plan started in 1992 . it included safety and environmental improvements which increased the project 's cost by nok 200 million , and it was made subject to consultative statements in may 1994 . a report on the coastal highway ( e39 ) was published in 1995 , which recommended that the skjersholmane – valevåg ferry be removed . following a dispute regarding the impact of the bridge landing on stord , sbt proposed building a culvert on digernes as a compromise to avoid a new plan which could have postponed the project several years . on 11 june 1996 , parliament decided with 144 against 20 votes to build the link . the original name proposed for the tunnel was ( " the portal to sunnhordland " ) , but this was changed to . construction geological sampling was undertaken by the norwegian geological survey and , and included both core samples and reflection seismology . late core samples showed that the tunnel would have to be located 30 meters ( 98 ft ) further down than originally planned to avoid deposits . the tunnel construction was awarded to two companies : the contract starting from dalshovda in sveio and was worked by the public roads administration , while the tunneling from føyno was worked by ncc . both used the drilling and blasting method . ncc was awarded the contract after bidding nok 175 million for the job . construction from sveio started on 16 september 1997 and from føyno on 6 march 1998 . in all , 625 , 000 cubic meters ( 22 , 100 , 000 cu ft ) of earthwork was extracted . the earthwork from the føyno side was transported by to and used to build the bridge . the earthwork from the sveio side was used to build roads and a golf course in the area . in average , the tunnel was built at a speed of 55 meters ( 180 ft ) per week , with the record being 96 . 7 meters ( 317 ft ) . between 30 and 40 people worked with the tunneling on each team . the lowest point was reached on 5 may 1999 and the breakthrough took place on 2 september 1999 , five months before schedule . construction involved injection of 282 tonnes ( 278 long tons ; 311 short tons ) and spraying of 14 , 900 cubic meters ( 530 , 000 cu ft ) of gunite . the tunnel was budgeted to cost nok 496 million , but ended up costing nok 487 million . it opened along with the stord bridge on 27 december 2000 . six hours before the opening , the bottom of the tunnel was used for a wedding . the toll company held a course for people with fear of tunnels to master their fears , with 60 people participating . the official opening took place on 30 april 2001 . when it opened , it was the longest and second - deepest subsea tunnel in europe and norway , after the tunnel . specifications the bømlafjord tunnel is 7 , 860 meters ( 25 , 790 ft ) long and crosses bømlafjorden as part of european route e39 . to the southeast , the tunnel begins at dalshovda in sveio . it runs under bømlafjord , then passes below the island of and continues under the fjord again before ending on the island of føyno . the tunnel is 11 meters ( 36 ft ) wide and has three lanes . as the tunnel has a significant slope , two lanes runs uphill and one runs downhill . it has a height of 4 . 7 meters ( 15 ft ) and has its deepest point at 260 . 4 meters ( 854 ft ) below mean sea level . safety measures include fire extinguishers , emergency telephones and break - down pullovers every 250 meters ( 820 ft ) . there are turning points for trucks every 1 , 500 meters ( 4 , 900 ft ) and lights and barriers at the entrances to notify drivers if the tunnel is closed . it features radio coverage and a system to register the position and key information about all vehicles in the tunnel . all the emergency equipment is connected to the public roads administrations central in bergen . the tunnel has mobile telephone coverage . in 2011 , the tunnel had an average 3 , 966 vehicles per day . the triangle link is partially financed with tolls , with toll collection taking place at føyno . it is constructed as a grade - separated intersection , resulting in that any car passes through the plaza once , with cars driving along e39 drive straight ahead through the plaza , while cars to or from bømlo need to use the interchange . the toll station uses the autopass toll collection , which allows passage without stopping , in addition to manual collection . passengers , pedestrians , bicycles , motorcyclists and mopeds are free . as of 2011 , the fees are nok 85 for cars and nok 270 for trucks . frequent travelers can prepay for at least 40 passings to the toll company , and receive a 40 percent discount . it is estimated that the tunnel will be paid off and the tolls removed in 2012 or 2013 . the tunnel runs through an area with complex and varied geology . it runs through two rock complexes , the halsnøy basement rock on the sveio side , and hardangerfjord cover complex on the stord side . both were created during the creation of the caledonian orogeny 500 million years ago . the halsnøy basement rock consists of precambrian rock with elements of gneiss of both sedimentary and magmatic origin . they range between granite gneiss to . in the area between the two complexes , there is some amount of gabbro . at the lowest point , the tunnel runs through a section of phyllite , which continues to be the dominant species until the tunnel reaches . below the island the tunnel reaches a section of greenstone , before it higher up again runs through more phyllite .