Lofoten Mainland Connection (Norwegian : Lofotens fastlandsforbindelse) or Lofast is a part of European route E10 that connects the Norwegian archipelago of Lofoten to the mainland, giving direct access to Lofoten from the surrounding municipalities.
The construction of this road was started autumn 1993, and temporarily shut down in 1998, when the first part was finished. It started up again in 2003, and Lofast was officially opened December 1, 2007. [1] Actually Lofast connects Lofoten with the older road network on Hinnøya which was already connected to the mainland.
E10 from Lofoten to the mainland formerly went through the Vesterålen archipelago, with the Melbu–Fiskebøl Ferry. [2] This road went through several towns with uneven speed limits. Lofast is a significantly shorter road connection across Hinnøya to the mainland that requires no ferry crossings and allows driving at relatively high speeds. For instance, the bus ride from Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes to Svolvær in Lofoten, which used to take 4 hours 15 minutes including a ferry trip (210 km), now takes only 3 hours incl. stops (170 km). [3] This trip can even be as short as just over 2 hours if driven with a car without stops.
All the larger islands in Lofoten are already connected by bridges or undersea tunnels. This means that after the construction of Lofast most of Lofoten is now connected to the mainland of Norway. The Lofast uses several tunnels, the largest is Sørdal Tunnel (6.3 km) and there is also Sløverfjord Tunnel (3.3 km) and five more tunnels and a 700 m long Raftsund Bridge. The final bridge crossing from Hinnøya over to the mainland is with the previously existing Tjeldsund Bridge.
Later has planning started about improving the road from Lofast eastern end at Gullesfjordbotn to near the Harstad/Narvik Airport. This will include multiple mountain tunnels and an undersea tunnel under the Tjeldsundet strait, and shorten the distance by 35 km and the drive time by 30 minutes. This is expected to be finished by 2030. [4]
Nordland is a county in Norway in the Northern Norway region, bordering Troms og Finnmark in the north, Trøndelag in the south, Norrbotten County in Sweden to the east, Västerbotten County to the southeast, and the Atlantic Ocean to the west. The county was formerly known as Nordlandene amt. The county administration is in the town of Bodø. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen has been administered from Nordland since 1995.
Vågan is a municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Lofoten. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Svolvær. Some of the villages in Vågan include Digermulen, Gimsøysand, Gravermarka, Henningsvær, Hopen, Kabelvåg, Kleppstad, Laupstad, Liland, Skrova, Straumnes, and Sydalen.
Harstad is the second-most populated municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. It is mostly located on the large island of Hinnøya. The municipal center is the town of Harstad, the most populous town in Central Hålogaland, and the third-largest in all of Northern Norway. The town was incorporated in 1904. Villages in the municipality include Elgsnes, Fauskevåg, Gausvik, Grøtavær, Kasfjord, Lundenes, Nergården and Sørvika.
Lofoten is an archipelago and a traditional district in the county of Nordland, Norway. Lofoten has distinctive scenery with dramatic mountains and peaks, open sea and sheltered bays, beaches and untouched lands. Its largest town, Leknes, is approximately 169 km (105 mi) inside the Arctic Circle and approximately 2,420 km (1,500 mi) away from the North Pole, making Lofoten one of the world's northernmost populated regions. Though lying within the Arctic Circle, the archipelago experiences one of the world's largest elevated temperature anomalies relative to its high latitude.
Hinnøya is the fourth largest island in Norway. The 2,204.7-square-kilometre (851.2 sq mi) lies just off the western coast of Northern Norway. The island sits on the border of Nordland and Troms og Finnmark counties. The western part of the island is in the district of Vesterålen, the southwestern part is in the Lofoten district, the southeastern part is in the Ofoten district, and the northeastern part is in Troms.
Vesterålen is a district and archipelago in Nordland county, Norway. It is located just north of the Lofoten district and archipelago and west of the town of Harstad. It is the northernmost part of Nordland county, including the municipalities of Andøy, Bø, Hadsel, Sortland, and Øksnes.
Svolvær is the administrative centre of Vågan Municipality in Nordland County, Norway. It is located on the island of Austvågøya in the Lofoten archipelago, along the Vestfjorden. The 2.37-square-kilometre (590-acre) town has a population (2018) of 4,720 which gives the town a population density of 1,992 inhabitants per square kilometre (5,160/sq mi).
Skutvika or Skutvik is a small village in the municipality of Hamarøy in Nordland county, Norway. The village is situated at the southwestern extreme of the Hamarøya peninsula, about 90 kilometres (56 mi) north of the town of Bodø, 95 kilometres (59 mi) southwest of the town of Narvik, and 40 kilometres (25 mi) south of the town of Svolvær. To the west and south of Skutvik is the Økssundet, a sound connecting the Sagfjorden and Vestfjorden. The landscape in the immediate vicinity of the village is dominated by hills, while further north a row of mountains rises up to 950 metres (3,120 ft) above sea level.
Tjeldsundet is a strait in Northern Norway. The 50-kilometre long strait is located between the island of Hinnøya and mainland Norway in its northern part and between Hinnøya and the island of Tjeldøya in its southern part. Tjeldsundet has been an important waterway for more than 1,000 years and was well known and used during the Viking Age.
The Tjeldsund Bridge is a suspension road bridge that crosses the Tjeldsundet strait between the mainland and the island of Hinnøya in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The bridge is 1,007 metres (3,304 ft) long, the main span is 290 metres (950 ft), and the maximum clearance to the sea is 41 metres (135 ft). The bridge has 32 spans.
Harstad-Narvik Airport, Evenes is an international airport located in Evenes Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. The airport serves the towns of Harstad and Narvik. It is co-located with Evenes Air Station of the Royal Norwegian Air Force. The civilian sector is owned and operated by the state-owned Avinor and handled 654,977 passengers in 2013. Evenes has a 2,808-meter (9,213 ft) runway, a parallel taxiway and a terminal with five gates. The airlines with daily scheduled services are Norwegian Air Shuttle, Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) and Widerøe. Destinations with daily services are Oslo, Trondheim, Bodø, Tromsø and Andenes. Evenes is the only primary airport in Central Hålogaland and its catchment area for Oslo-bound flights includes Lofoten and Vesterålen.
European route E10 is the second shortest Class A road which is part of the International E-road network. It begins in Å, Norway and ends in Luleå, Sweden. The road is about 850 km (530 mi) in length. The Norwegian part of the road is also named Kong Olav Vs vei.
Narvik Airport, Framnes is a former public regional airport closed down in 2017 in Narvik Municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It was located at Framnes in the town of Narvik, along the Ofotfjorden. It was operated by the state-owned Avinor and consisted of a 965-meter (3,166 ft) runway aligned 01–19.
Svolvær Airport, Helle is a regional airport serving the town of Svolvær in Vågan Municipality in Nordland county, Norway.
A fixed link or fixed crossing is a persistent, unbroken road or rail connection across water that uses some combination of bridges, tunnels, and causeways and does not involve intermittent connections such as drawbridges or ferries. A bridge–tunnel combination is commonly used for major fixed links.
Grytøya (Norwegian) or Rivttek (Northern Sami) is an island in Harstad Municipality in Troms og Finnmark county, Norway. The 108-square-kilometre (42 sq mi) island lies just north of the large island of Hinnøya and south of the island of Bjarkøya. It is surrounded by the Vågsfjorden in the east and the Andfjorden in the west. The highest peak on the island is the 1,012-metre (3,320 ft) tall mountain Nona. The population of Grytøya (2017) is 433. The southeastern part of the island is the most agriculturally productive.
Huftarøy is the largest island in the municipality of Austevoll in Vestland county, Norway. The 50.4-square-kilometre (19.5 sq mi) island lies in the Austevoll archipelago, just west of the Bjørnafjorden, south of the Korsfjorden, east of the Mokstrafjorden, and north of the Selbjørnsfjorden. The largest settlement on the island is the municipal centre of Storebø on the northern part of the island.
County Road 82 is a road in Nordland county, Norway. It runs between the village of Fiskebøl and the town of Andenes. The road runs through the municipalities of Hadsel, Sortland, and Andøy. At Fiskebøl, the road intersects with the European route E10 highway before crossing the Hadselfjorden on the Fiskebøl–Melbu Ferry. Bridges on the road include Andøy Bridge, Sortland Bridge, Hadsel Bridge, and Børøy Bridge. Two sections are designated as part of two National Tourist Routes in Norway: the section from the intersection with E10 to Fiskebøl is part of Lofoten National Tourist Route, and the section through Andenes is part of Andenes National Tourist Route. During summer, the Andenes–Gryllefjord Ferry connects to County Road 86 at Gryllefjord on the island of Senja. Before 1 January 2010, the road was called National Road 82, but due to reforms that went into effect on that day, the county took over the ownership and maintenance of the road.
Central Hålogaland is a district of Northern Norway constituting the traditional districts of Ofoten, Lofoten, Vesterålen and Southern Troms og Finnmark. It has a population of 117,000, with the largest towns being Harstad (23,000) and Narvik (18,000). Smaller towns which act as regional centers include Svolvær, Sortland, and Leknes. The district covers 23 municipalities and an area of 11,600 square kilometers (4,500 sq mi). The Norwegian Police Service has Central Hålogaland as a police district with head office in Harstad.
Nordøyvegen is a planned road project that will connect the northern islands of Haram Municipality and Sandøy Municipality to the mainland in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The project includes crossing four fjords with tunnels and bridges and upgrading and re-routing roads on the islands to meet national standards. The project will replace several ferry crossings and will cost an estimated 5 billion kr. It will provide a faster, ferry-free connection to the mainland for the approximately 3,000 residents of the islands.