- Lærdal Tunnel
Lærdal Tunnel ( _no. Lærdalstunnelen) is a 24.5 km (15.2 mi)-long road tunnel connecting
Lærdal andAurland inSogn og Fjordane county in westernNorway . Construction started in 1995 and was completed in 2000, thus succeeding theGotthard Road Tunnel as the longest road tunnel in the world. The tunnel is a part of the E16 main route betweenOslo andBergen .cite web | title = Norway opens world's longest road tunnel | url = http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TRAVEL/NEWS/11/27/norway.tunnel.reut/index.html | publisher =CNN | month = November | year = 2000 | accessdate = January 28 | accessyear = 2008]Rail tunnels such as the
Seikan Tunnel in Japan and theChannel Tunnel between England and France can exceed 50 km (30 miles) in length.The design of the tunnel takes into consideration the mental strain on drivers, so the tunnel is divided into four sections, separated by three large mountain caves. The caves break the routine, providing a refreshing view and allowing drivers to take a short rest.cite web | title = Norway opens world's longest road tunnel | url = http://archives.cnn.com/2000/TRAVEL/NEWS/11/27/norway.tunnel.reut/index.html | publisher =
CNN | month = November | year = 2000 | accessdate = July 2 | accessyear = 2007]Unlike most newer tunnels in Norway, the tunnel is not tolled.
References
External links
* [http://home.no.net/lotsberg/data/norway/laerdal/tunnel.html Private site on the tunnel]
* [http://www.vegvesen.no/region_vest/prosjekter/lardalstunnelen/english.stm Info about the tunnel from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
