Obrascòn Huarte Lain wins Gjønnes Tunnel

Spanish contractor Obrascòn Huarte Lain (OHLA) has signed a €157.6 million contract for construction of the Gjønnes Tunnel in Bærum, Norway.

The 1.5km-long tunnel will be a new county road connection between Gjønnes and E18 at Strand, with a  further connection to Fornebu. The tunnel will basically move the E18 underground through Bærum, a municipality in the Greater Oslo Region and Norway's fifth largest municipality with a population of nearly 130,000.

The tunnel will consist of a 100m concrete entrance followed by 1.4km of drilling through rock, according to the client, Norwegian Public Roads Administration – Statens vegvesen. The contract with OHLA includes, noise reduction measures, water purification solutions and waste management.

Another 450m of the tunnel are being built as part of the E102 Fornebukrysset – Strand project which was awarded to Skanska last year. The contract consists of the design and building of a total of 2.3km of new 2x3 lanes E18 motorway between Fornebukrysset and Strand, a new main uninterrupted cycle route on the entire section and a new local access road to Fornebu and 660m of the Høvik Tunnel. The contract includes changes to the adjacent local road systems with pedestrian and cycle paths. The project will be environmentally certified according to BREEAM Infrastructure – level Excellent.

Work will start this year on the Gjønnes Tunnel for complete finish of the E102 Fornebukrysset – Strand project in late 2029 or 2030.