3 ms·

That's kind of cool. Norway also has roundabouts in tunnels. I guess they like tunnels.

varjag 4mo ago
Most of the Norway's Western coast (basically the extent of the country) is mountainous so building infrastructure there inevitably involves blasting the rock. At the same time the country is huge, bigger than Germany or the UK. So naturally a lot of tunnels. This one a bit special: most of the boat traffic through it are meant to be ferries so it is to be commissioned and managed by the National Road Authority. At the same time it's quite unique if only due to enormous cross-section and can't share many usual national design solutions for the tunnels. For instance my company was asked a quotation for a PA system for it and it's really a challenge. So it's no wonder that it's delayed so much: it requires a lot of bespoke solutions.
- lb1lf 4mo ago
  To stress how prolific tunnels are - if I drive from my home near Aalesund on the northwestern coast to the family seat at Voss (a bit inland from Bergen), some 360km/220mi or so, more than 1/4 of that distance is in tunnels. Can't remember how many, but dozens.
  - varjag 4mo ago
    I think if you drive just the Bergen-Voss-Nordheimsund-Bergen circuit (some 200km?) that alone is 60 tunnels, and many of them are longer than what most countries have.
    - fpoling 4mo ago
      A few years ago I counted 42 tunnels on 100 km between Voss and Bergen center.
- Epa095 4mo ago
  Are you in the lisp company? If so, how is it? Hard to get people? Or is it a geek-magnet?
  - varjag 4mo ago
    It's tricky. Lotsa nerds in Norway who are interested but not that many available Lispers who are in Bergen area. And our work more or less requires physical presence. We're considering now to hire someone generally good and retrain, although it makes for quite a bit longer onboarding.
ant6n 4mo ago
I bet the cost-benefit is actually negative. But it is kind of cool, I guess.
- dgellow 4mo ago
  Depends on the time frame, no? Such a tunnel will exist for a long time (I assume)
  - Jensson 4mo ago
    Yeah, governments invest on a different timescale than corporations. An investment like this typically enables future investments by other actors and adds up to a lot more than what you see currently. For example a train station doesn't just serve the current people who live there, but the new town and all the new buildings that will be built around it as well. Infrastructure improves land value often by many orders of magnitude more than it costs to build.
    - ant6n 4mo ago
      It is true cost-benefit for public works projects include the public benefit. But it is often not magnitudes more. Often projects basically scrape by on cost benefits larger than 1.0, after some creative accounting. And yes, the timescales are larger, but they are still tied to interest rates. A benefit on the scale in 100 years can not be measured over that timescale.
blackoil 4mo ago
Need them for trolls to move around.
- Broken_Hippo 4mo ago
  Shhh!
cassepipe 4mo ago
The Dutch really like building dikes
- cassepipe 4mo ago
  The Japanese seem to dig earthquake-resistant buildings a lot

Most of the Norway's Western coast (basically the extent of the country) is mountainous so building infrastructure there inevitably involves blasting the rock. At the same time the country is huge, bigger than Germany or the UK. So naturally a lot of tunnels. This one a bit special: most of the boat traffic through it are meant to be ferries so it is to be commissioned and managed by the National Road Authority. At the same time it's quite unique if only due to enormous cross-section and can't share many usual national design solutions for the tunnels. For instance my company was asked a quotation for a PA system for it and it's really a challenge. So it's no wonder that it's delayed so much: it requires a lot of bespoke solutions.

lb1lf 4mo ago
To stress how prolific tunnels are - if I drive from my home near Aalesund on the northwestern coast to the family seat at Voss (a bit inland from Bergen), some 360km/220mi or so, more than 1/4 of that distance is in tunnels. Can't remember how many, but dozens.
- varjag 4mo ago
  I think if you drive just the Bergen-Voss-Nordheimsund-Bergen circuit (some 200km?) that alone is 60 tunnels, and many of them are longer than what most countries have.
  - fpoling 4mo ago
    A few years ago I counted 42 tunnels on 100 km between Voss and Bergen center.
Epa095 4mo ago
Are you in the lisp company? If so, how is it? Hard to get people? Or is it a geek-magnet?
- varjag 4mo ago
  It's tricky. Lotsa nerds in Norway who are interested but not that many available Lispers who are in Bergen area. And our work more or less requires physical presence. We're considering now to hire someone generally good and retrain, although it makes for quite a bit longer onboarding.

ant6n 4mo ago

I bet the cost-benefit is actually negative. But it is kind of cool, I guess.

dgellow 4mo ago
Depends on the time frame, no? Such a tunnel will exist for a long time (I assume)
- Jensson 4mo ago
  Yeah, governments invest on a different timescale than corporations. An investment like this typically enables future investments by other actors and adds up to a lot more than what you see currently. For example a train station doesn't just serve the current people who live there, but the new town and all the new buildings that will be built around it as well. Infrastructure improves land value often by many orders of magnitude more than it costs to build.
  - ant6n 4mo ago
    It is true cost-benefit for public works projects include the public benefit. But it is often not magnitudes more. Often projects basically scrape by on cost benefits larger than 1.0, after some creative accounting. And yes, the timescales are larger, but they are still tied to interest rates. A benefit on the scale in 100 years can not be measured over that timescale.

blackoil 4mo ago

Need them for trolls to move around.

Broken_Hippo 4mo ago
Shhh!

cassepipe 4mo ago

The Dutch really like building dikes

cassepipe 4mo ago
The Japanese seem to dig earthquake-resistant buildings a lot