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Underwater Roundabout in the Faroe Islands
- skrause 6y agoPrevious discussion: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25299574 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25299574
- tracnar 6y agoThe art makes the walls look like they have low-quality textures, I was convinced it was 3D renderings at first.
- gameswithgo 6y agopretty sure that is a rendering
- _Microft 6y agoThe surfaces of the walls and ceiling look like shotcrete. Render images can be found here: https://www.estunlar.fo/fo/um-tunlarnar/eysturoyartunnilin/ https://www.estunlar.fo/fo/um-tunlarnar/eysturoyartunnilin/
- marvin 6y agoNope, that's what it looks like :) I haven't been there, but check out this photograph of the Vallavik tunnel in West Norway for another example of render-like architecture: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vallavik_Tunnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vallavik_Tunnel You would probably have a similar experience in the Lærdal tunnel. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A6rdal_Tunnel https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A6rdal_Tunnel
- lb1lf 6y ago-The Lærdal tunnel is a masterstroke of tunnel engineering; at 24.5km/15miles long, a major issue would be that it is simply mind-numbingly boring to drive through it, with the likely consequence that drivers' minds drift and accidents result. To counter this, the tunnel is broken up somewhat by three caves blasted out at regular intervals; these are lit by coloured lights and go a ways towards breaking the monotony. Still mind-numbingly boring, though. To give an idea of how prevalent tunnels are in western Norway - going from where I live in Hareid down to where my mother's family comes from, Voss - a 400km/250mi drive - just over 100km/62mi are in tunnels, including the Lærdal tunnel and the Eiksund tunnel, which was until recently the deepest subsea road tunnel in the world at 290m/950ft deep. (Steepest grade: 9.6%. Engine braking is your friend.)
- marvin 6y agoI noticed something funny when going through it in a Tesla for the first time. The three parts have slightly different inclines, and the transition between them is sharp. Don't remember exactly, but I think the first part is uphill, then flat, then downhill. You can see it very clearly on the performance monitor. There's also the built-in curves, of course, but I guess that's pretty standard road tunnel engineering.
- twic 6y agoSo it is rendering: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cement_render https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cement_render
- lldbg 6y agoFunny, interesting and informative. The IT crowd of HN often forget that many terms did not originate with the advent of the computer - me included. Cement rendering is the application of a pre-mixed layer of concrete, possibly colored, onto a surface. Per the wikipedia link.
- BlackVanilla 6y agoSimilar to some Stockholm metro stations. https://www.visitstockholm.com/art-in-the-subway/stations/ https://www.visitstockholm.com/art-in-the-subway/stations/
- nfriedly 6y agoI was trying to figure out why a tunnel would need a roundabout to connect two places, and the article didn't really make that clear. It turns out that it's connecting 3 different places - there's a map on this article that helps to clarify it: https://www.estunlar.fo/en/about-the-tunnels/the-eysturoy-tunnel/ https://www.estunlar.fo/en/about-the-tunnels/the-eysturoy-tu...
- stdbrouw 6y agoEven just looking at that map it's not clear why they didn't just connect Strendur to Rókin instead, perhaps with a bridge. I guess there's a geographical or geological explanation, but I'm curious precisely what that is.
- breck 6y agoI can't see anything obvious. Maybe the cold weather makes tunnels a cheaper option? Here it is in GMaps: https://goo.gl/maps/ijR9TG3LbyKo3wW7A https://goo.gl/maps/ijR9TG3LbyKo3wW7A Note that the map in the parent seems to be rotated.
- stdbrouw 6y agoThe photo on Google Maps shows a cruise ship, and the map shows a harbor. Perhaps a fixed bridge with enough clearance is impossible and one that opens not any cheaper than a tunnel?
- lqet 6y agoI suspect a meteorological explanation. The weather might be so bad sometimes that crossing the bridge is not possible. Or the lifetime of a bridge exposed to such conditions might be extremely low, or maintenance costs extremely high.
- Symmetry 6y agoThere are docks on both sides, perhaps the issue was boat traffic?
- Rexxar 6y agoIs there a geological property that makes tunnel less expansive to build in Faroe Islands ? More than 50km of tunnels for 50000 inhabitants seems huge (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tunnels_of_the_Faroe_Islands https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tunnels_of_the_Faroe_I...)
- hnlmorg 6y agoFrom what I've gathered from reading other articles before this one, the weather can get pretty choppy at times and when that happens those islands become cut off. So it might not be a case of tunnels being less expensive but rather tunnels being more reliable.
- booi 6y agoThat still doesn’t change the fact that this is a huge investment for 50,000 people. Those tunnels will likely never pay for themselves
- lqet 6y agoTo put that into perspective: the tunnel cost roughly 175M euros, that's 3.5k EUR per inhabitant. I don't find this excessive. From the maps, it looks like basically every inhabitant benefits from those tunnels. Even if it just saves 100 EUR in gas per year and inhabitant, the tunnel is a societal net gain after about 35 years. Also consider this: > On the Eysturoy side of the tunnel house prices increased by 31% between 2019 and 2020 and have doubled between 2015-2020 [0] Additionally, the tunnels are tolled [0]: > Construction costs for the tunnel are being recouped through toll fees. Tolls start at 75 DKK for small cars (up to 3,500 kilograms (7,700 lb)) between Tórshavn and Eysturoy, and 25 DKK for local traffic between Saltnes (near Runavík) and Strendur. This price is for people who have a subscription (hald). Without subscription the price is 175 DKK between Eysturoy to Streymoy and 125 DKK between the two arms of Skálafjørður. 75 DKK are around 10 EUR. With an estimated 6,000 cars per day, thats 60,000 EUR per day. At this rate, the tunnel will have paid for itself (if maintenance cost is excluded) after 8 years. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eysturoyartunnilin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eysturoyartunnilin
- davidw 6y agoLooks like something from Zwift's "Watopia".
- ajcp 6y agoExcept with no more than a 5% incline, so much more forgiving than Watopia
- peter_d_sherman 6y agoLooks like a great idea! But, I'm curious how fresh air is pumped into the tunnels? I'm guessing that there might be some sort of mechanism for this? Maybe pressurized air pipes and/or ducts/fans at regular intervals, and/or some other form of ventilation system? Observation: For future underground tunnel systems, if only electric vehicles are permitted to enter, then there might not be as hard a requirement for an apropriate ventilation system as there would be for fossil-fuel vehicles...
- Mountain_Skies 6y agoIf it were electric vehicles only, the more traffic, the more air flow from vehicles stirring it up. They might end up asking people to drive through it more in order to keep the air from getting stagnate. That'd be an interesting turn of events.
- nuodag 6y agoThere are tunnels that have this requirement. It took years longer than planned to complete the new Berlin airport. The underground trainstation was already finished, and they had to drive in there with empty trains every day for air exchange to avoid mold etc.
- lb1lf 6y ago-In the subsea tunnels a bit further east, in Norway, large fans mounted at regular intervals help maintain a draft through the tunnel. I don't think much forced ventilation is needed for normal operation - the blades spin very leisurely, if at all - but in case of fire they can direct the smoke and heat away from the bulk of the people trapped inside. The fans look like good ol' jet engines.[0] [0] https://www.systemair.com/fileadmin/_processed_/c/7/csm_Systemair_36_c39049a5e2.jpg https://www.systemair.com/fileadmin/_processed_/c/7/csm_Syst...
- labawi 6y agoProbably this. And burning batteries may produce less smoke, but it can be more "fun" than regular gasoline or even burning plastics, though even plastics are a sufficient reason for good ventilation.
- SeanFerree 6y agoVery cool!!
- meatpuppeting 6y agoThis is really cool! I'd really like to visit the Faroe Islands when the pandemic is over.
- jedberg 6y agoIn case anyone is curious like me, here is the current car trip of 1hr right now (article says it's usually 1h:15m): https://goo.gl/maps/dUJocTubPfqkr5Zr5 https://goo.gl/maps/dUJocTubPfqkr5Zr5 Cutting that drive to 15m seems like it's worth it, especially given the weather there. It's probably a huge increase in safety and reliability too.