Sotra Bridge

About

The Old Sotra Bridge (Gamle Sotrabrua) is a suspension bridge which crosses Knarreviksundet between Knarrevik in Øygarden Municipality and Drotningsvik on the mainland of Bergen Municipality in Vestland county, Norway. It carries two road lanes and two narrow pedestrian paths of National Road 555, providing a fixed link for the archipelago of Sotra. The bridge is 1,236 metres (4, 055 ft) long, has a main span of 468 metres (1, 535 ft) and a clearance of 50 metres (160 ft). In 2007, on average 25,494 vehicles used it per day. The bridge became operational on 11 December 1971, although not officially opened until 1972. It cost 40 million Norwegian krone (NOK) to build, of which NOK 23.5 million was paid for with tolls, which were collected until 1983. When it opened, it was the longest suspension bridge in Norway, but is now the seventh longest. There exist plans to build a second bridge to either expand the road to four lanes, or carry a proposed extension of the Bergen Light Rail. Alternatively, a subsea tunnel could be built to carry a motorway. A second Sotra Bridge is being built as part of the National Road 555 Sotra Connection project (Rv. 555 Sotrasambandet), with construction underway since 2023 and completion expected in 2027.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.