Kruse Smith Entreprenør and Volda Maskin have secured a contract with Norway’s Møre and Romsdal County Municipality for an avalanche protection system including a tunnel.
The project, along county road 63 between Eidsdal and Geiranger, comprises a 4.8km tunnel, 100m of tunnel portal work, a 25m bridge and a 135-metre-long landslide/avalanche protection wall, as well as all electrical installations.
The contract is for around €54.27 million with construction to start this autumn and completion in autumn 2023. The winning bid was also the lowest, noted project owner Arne Ola Stavseng, with Møre og Romsdal county. The highest bid was just more than €70 million, according to local media.
The tunnel will make county road 63 safer during the winter and reduce the number of closures.
Around 260,000 people live in the coastal county found on the northernmost part of Western Norway. Up to 630 vehicles use the road daily but the number can be as high as 1,500 during the busiest part of the tourist season.