Denmark's Faroe Islands officially open the Eysturoy Tunnel on Saturday (19 December). The 11.2 kilometer tunnel is the first of the two subsea tunnels that are being built between the islands. Apart from being a long subsea tunnel under the North Atlantic, the Eysturoy tunnel is also the World's first subsea tunnel with roundabout (photo above).

Esturoy tunnel has been built by the Swedish construction company NCC. The owner of the project is P/E Eystur-og Sandoyartunlar (EST). The 11.2 km subsea tunnel represents a significant infrastructure investment, which will reduce travel time to the capital city of Tórshavn from many places in the Faroe Islands.

Tunnel construction began in January 2017, with breakthrough achieved on June 7, 2019. At its deepest point, the tunnel is 187 meters below sea level and includes the Atlantic’s first and only subsea roundabout. With the entire tunnel opened for traffic, the Faroese capital of Tórshavn is now connected to both sides of Skálafjørður fjord.

Largest infrastructure investment in the history of Faroe Islands

The contractors NCC is in full swing with the second phase of the Faroe Islands contract, construction of the 10.8 km Sandoy tunnel, which will go from Gamlarætt on Streymoy to Traðardalur on Sandoy.This tunnel is scheduled to be ready in 2023.

Both tunnels will contribute to safer roads and reduced journey times to Tórshavn from many places in the Faroe Islands, and make an important contribution to bringing communities, businesses and people closer together. Construction of the two tunnels is also the largest infrastructure investment ever made in the Faroe Islands.

https://www.ncc.com/media/pressrelease/48f375a5e8081e4f/eysturoy-tunnel-built-by-ncc-opened-in-faroe-islands/

Eysturoy Tunnel Photos by courtesy of NCC

Eysturoy Tunnel Depth Diagram by Rennohokwerda1 - CC BY-SA 4.0

Eysturoy Tunnel Map: I did the composition and some marking on Duckduckgo map.