Subsea road tunnels in the Faroe Islands

Abstract

The Faroe Islands north of Scotland has a disproportionally large number of road tunnels. In addition to 44 km of existing tunnels, two further undersea tunnels totalling 22 km will be completed by 2023. A further 30 km undersea crossing is planned, providing nearly 2 m of tunnel for each of the 50 000 inhabitants. This paper describes the country’s recent, current and proposed subsea tunnelling projects. When eventually completed they will reduce journey times between the 18 major islands from up to a day to no more than a few hours’ drive.