Norway has announced its plan to build the world's
first tunnel for ships, paving the way for a gigantic 1.7-kilometre (1 mile)
passageway to be dug underneath a rocky peninsula in the country's north-west.
The Stad Ship Tunnel, which is expected to cost
some US$312 million to complete, will enable cruise liners, freight ships, and
smaller vessels to take an underground shortcut through the Stad peninsula –
avoiding the rough winds and waters of the Stadhavet Sea, the most treacherous
stretch of Norway's coastline.
When complete, the tunnel will stand some 49 metres
(160.7 feet) tall, with a width of 36 metres (118.1 feet). Construction could
begin as soon as 2019, and if the schedule doesn't blow out, the tunnel might
be open for ships by 2023.
If that sounds like a long time to wait, spare a
thought for the insane amount of rock and mountain that's going to need to be
displaced to carve this thing.
The Norwegian Coastal Administration (NCA), the
body in charge of the project, says some 3 million cubic metres (106 million
cubic feet) of rock will need to be burrowed through to dig the tunnel,
weighing approximately 8 million tonnes in total once the passageway is
finished.
The NCA says that will take three to four years to
do, but once the tunnel is finished, approximately 100 passenger and freight
ships every day will be able to skip the tumult of the exposed coastline by
sailing through the narrowest point of the peninsula.
Large vessels will be given priority in passing
through the tunnel, with smaller boats having to wait for passenger and freight
ships, or will only get to use the tunnel at certain times, the planners
suggest.
Usually when passageways are constructed for ships
they're called canals, and they don't have roofs – but in this case making the
canal a tunnel was a far more practical and cost-effective option, given that
the mountainous terrain above the tunnel to heights of more than 335 metres
(1,100 feet), meaning clearing a canal would have involved blasting through
even more rock.
When construction begins, crews will begin drilling
from both sides of the mountain and meet in the middle. Thresholds will be put
in place to prevent water from entering the tunnel during the drilling.
Both ends of the tunnel will be fitted with
concrete blocks and rubber bumpers to withstand the impact of an oncoming
vessel, and ships travelling through the tunnel will be forced to observe
minimum distances in front and behind, to prevent the risk of collision.
While opponents of the plan have criticised the tunnel
for its expense, the NCA says the passage will ultimately save money, by
providing a quicker means of travel, which is also safer.
"The advantage is in bad weather conditions,
during which you will save a lot of time and fuel," the head of the NCA,
Terje Andreassen, told Liz Stinson at Wired.
It's not the first time we've seen Norway notch up
impressive firsts in the world of transportation. The country has also made
headlines for its ambitious plan to become the first nation to ban gas-powered
cars, following moves to exclude cars from its capital, Oslo, while spending
big to implement bicycle pathways.
As far as the underground shipping tunnel goes,
Norse sailors and fishermen have reportedly longed for such a shortcut since as
far back as the late 19th century – but now, after more than a hundred years of
sailing the long way around, it looks like we're finally going to see it
happen.
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