Last Friday (19 March) finally came the approval for the E16 and Vossebanen Arna-Stanghelle project with its inclusion in the government's proposal for a new National Transport Plan (NTP).

Statens vegvesen (The Norwegian Public Roads Administration) and Bane NOR (the Norwegian government agency for the railways) Bane NOR are now gearing up for a huge joint project to build a total of 77850 meters of road and railway tunnels.

The new E16 and the Vossebanen Arna-Stanghelle project aims to connect east and the west of Norway by providing safer and quicker transportation connection between Voss and Bergen.

On 22 March, Statens vegvesen released the following (original in Norwegian, this is a literal translation):

We are ready to build the E16 and the Vossebanen Arna-Stanghelle

Employees in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Bane NOR are now getting ready for the start of construction of the E16 and Vossebanen Arna-Stanghelle in 2024. The section is part of the government's proposal for a new National Transport Plan (NTP).

- After five years of planning, this is a day of joy. There has been a lot of excitement about when this project will come, and whether it should be realized as a whole or in parts. As it looks, the whole project is now being realized. We also look forward to continuing the good collaboration with Bane NOR, says Kjartan Hove, Project Director in area west of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.

Employees in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Bane NOR, who have worked with the planning for several years, were excited about what the government would propose of new road projects in NTP. The mood was therefore good when NTP was presented on Friday last week.

Mature project - ready for consultation

- This project is mature and clear from our side, and there are high expectations to start the construction of a main road and railway out of Bergen where people can feel safe when they travel. We are now waiting for the Ministry of Local Government and Modernization to give the go-ahead to submit the zoning plan for consultation. We will be ready to put the shovel in the ground in 2024, says Gunnar Søderholm, project leader for the joint project in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.

When the Storting follows up NTP with money from the state budget, construction work can start as early as 2024. The section has a construction time of 8-10 years. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration has cut costs on the road project in its NTP proposal by NOK 134 billion. It was important to put in place more road projects in the transport plan.

This is what we are going to build:

• A new E16 and Vossebanen Arna-Stanghelle will provide increased traffic safety, transportable transport, increased capacity for goods on the track, and reduced travel time.
• The project involves the construction of a total of approx. 36,300 meters of road tunnel and approx. 26,100 meters of railway tunnel, divided into three tunnel sections with tunnel lengths between 8 and 10 km.
• In addition, more than 6,000 m of ramp tunnels will be built, approx. 3,100 m access tunnels, approx. 3,350 m of connecting tunnels between road and track as safety in the event of fire or other accidents, as well as almost 3,000 m of separate escape tunnels
• About. 7.5 million sqm (solid mass) will be blasted out, which corresponds to approx. 11.3 million am3 (placed mass in filling)
• A two-level intersection will be built in Arna, at Trengereid and Vaksdal.
• At Trengereid and Vaksdal, there are cross-solutions in the mountains.
• New railway stations will be built at Vaksdal and Stanghelle. Two large railway bridges at Stanghelle (250 m) and at Vaksdal (70/190 m depending on B1 / B2 in route selection)) and motorway bridge at Arna (127 m)

https://www.vegvesen.no/Europaveg/e16banearnastanghelle/nyhetsarkiv/vi-er-klare-for-a-bygge-e16-og-vossebanen-arna-stanghelle