If you ever wondered how sky-high highways are built and the thought of it leaves you in awe, wait until you see these underwater tunnels!
Norway is planning to build underwater tunnels to provide solution to the usual 21–hour drive from Kristiansand to Trondheim which are located at both ends of the country. The current way is through the E-39.
Now, they are proposing these submerged floating tunnels which would be consisted of 4,000-foot long concrete tubes. These tunnels can hold two traffic. Ships wouldn’t be in any way affected as these tubes will be 100 feet below. They also plan to hold these tubed by pontoons along the surface in connected trusses, Each pontoon will be sufficiently far from each other so that ships can still pass between them. If you are not yet convinced about its safety, they are also planning to add a bedrock support below.
If you think that these tunnels are not doable, well Norway has already built 1,150 traffic tunnels in which 35 of them are underwater. They claim that with their unstable terrain, these underwater tunnels are more possible.
The tunnels will also be designed in such a way that it can withstand tidal movements and extreme temperatures under water. So nobody has to worry about anything when driving through them.
“Having this connection means that people there do not have to wait for a helicopter to go to the hospital.”Arianna Minoretti, a senior engineer in Norweigan Public Roads Administration, said.
The project is expected to be completed in year 2035, in which $ 25 Million has already been committed to the project.
Source: TNP, EliteReaders
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