Hardanger Bridge

Hardanger Bridge is a bridge under construction which will cross the Hardangerfjord in southwestern Norway. It will replace today's ferry connection between Brurvik and Brimnes and will be a part of the shortest road connection between Oslo and Bergen.

The bridge will be about 1,380 metres (4,530 ft) long, with a main span of 1,310 metres (4,300 ft). It will be a suspension bridge, one of the longest spans in the world (no 7 in today's list, no 9 when completed, and no 1 in Norway). Sailingsheight is 55 metres (180 ft) and towers reach 186 metres (610 ft).

The bridge will have two lanes and a width of 7.5 metres (25 ft) for the roadway, and a bike/walkpath. The traffic on the bridge is only estimated for 1850 vehicles per day in 2020 since it's located in a very sparsely populated area. Opening is scheduled for 2013.

Currently a ferry runs over the fjord every 20 – 60 minutes depending on the season, the ferry takes 10 minutes. The project will cost 1800 million kroner (around € 200 million) and over half of this will be paid by toll on the ferry and after completion on the bridge.

The national routes 7 and 13 crosses the fjord, route 7 is the shortest road between Norway's largest cities Bergen and Oslo - but it's not preferred because of poor road condition and bad weather across 1300 meter high Hardangervidda plateau. Route 13 is a preferred inland north/south regional connection.

The small difference between length and span is because the fjord quickly becomes very deep, and the towers must stand on shore. Also there are steep mountain walls. On both sides the road will enter tunnels directly from the bridge. The maximum water depth near the bridge is about 500 metres (1,600 ft), and the mountains surrounding the fjord are about 1,200 metres (3,900 ft) high.

The planned cost is 1,8 billion Norwegian kroner, and construction was started in February 2009, with an opening planned for 2013.

The engineering part of the project will be done by Statens Vegvesen, Veidirektoratet. The cable bands, tower saddles and splay saddles have been manufactured in the UK by Goodwin Steel Castings Ltd.