Gudvanga Tunnel

Gudvanga Tunnel
Overview
LocationAurland, Norway
Coordinates60°53′07″N 06°56′59″E / 60.88528°N 6.94972°E / 60.88528; 6.94972
Route E16
Operation
Opened1991
CharacterPassenger
Technical
Length11,428 m (7.1 mi)
Highest elevation70 m (230 ft)

The Gudvanga Tunnel (Norwegian: Gudvangatunnelen or Gudvangentunnelen) is located in the municipality of Aurland in Vestland county, Norway. The tunnel connects the village of Gudvangen, at the head of the Nærøyfjord, with the Undredalen valley and is part of European Route E16. At 11,428 metres (7.1 mi) in length, it is Norway's third longest road tunnel. It was opened on 17 December 1991.[1][2]

Nearby tunnels

After passing through the Gudvanga Tunnel, drivers pass through a number of other tunnels. About 500 metres (1,600 ft) east of the eastern exit from the Gudvanga Tunnel a new tunnel begins: the 5,053-metre (16,578 ft) long Flenja Tunnel which ends at Flåm. Approximately 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) after that tunnel is the 1,363-metre (4,472 ft) Fretheim Tunnel. About 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) further to the east (near Aurlandsvangen) is the entrance to the 24.5-kilometre (15.2 mi) long Lærdal Tunnel, which is the world's longest road tunnel. This means that in a 51.5 kilometres (32.0 mi) section of the E16, 43 kilometres (27 mi) of that distance consists of tunnels.

Fires

In August 2013, a truck caught fire in the tunnel, resulting in 55 people being hospitalised.[3] In August 2015, a tourist bus caught fire 500 metres (1,600 ft) from the exit.[4] In March 2019, a truck burned down about 1.5 kilometres (0.93 mi) from the tunnel entry.[5]

References

  1. ^ Store norske leksikon. "Gudvangentunnelen" (in Norwegian). Retrieved 2010-09-05.
  2. ^ "The World's Longest Tunnel Page". Archived from the original on 2012-01-06. Retrieved 2010-09-06.
  3. ^ "Dozens injured in Norway road tunnel fire". The Irish Times. 5 August 2013. Retrieved 6 August 2013.
  4. ^ Bussbrann i Gudvangatunnelen. NRK (August 12, 2015).
  5. ^ AS, TV 2. "Store skader i Gudvangatunnelen: - Vil være stengt i flere dager". TV 2 (in Norwegian Bokmål). Retrieved 2019-03-31.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)