Tunnels in Iceland
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There are currently six tunnels in the Icelandic road system; three more are under construction or have been planned (as of June 2004). Tunnels in Iceland are usually built under mountains for several different reasons such as: preventing winter-isolation of remote communities which would otherwise have to depend on high roads that often close due to snow, to shorten distance between communities and to increase road-safety by bypassing dangerous stretches of road. One Icelandic tunnel has been dug under a fjord, the Hvalfjörður Tunnel (Hvalfjarðargöng), and is among the longest underwater road tunnels in the world.
| Already open | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Length in metres | Opening year | Region |
| Vestfirðir Tunnel | 91201 | 1995 | Westjords |
| Hvalfjörður Tunnel | 5770 | 1998 | West |
| Múlagöng Tunnel | 3400 | 1990 | North |
| Strákar Tunnel | 800 | 1967 | North |
| Oddskarð Tunnel | 640 | 1977 | East |
| Arnardalshamar Tunnel | 30 | 1948 | Westfjords |
| Under construction | |||
| Name | Length in metres | Projected opening | Region |
| Fáskrúðsfjörður Tunnel | 5850 | 2005 | East |
| Almannaskarð Tunnel | ~1200 | 2005 | East |
| Héðinsfjörður Tunnel | 105602 | Unknown | North |
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1 The tunnel has three branches that connect in a T-intersection inside the tunnel | |||