Skarnsund Bridge

Skarnsund Bridge is a long concrete cable-stayed bridge that crosses the Skarnsundet sound, in Norway.

Skarnsund Bridge

Official name            Skarnsundet bru

Carries                      Road vehicles and pedestrians

Crosses                     Skarnsundet

Locale                       Inderoy and Mosvik

Design                      Cable-stayed bridge

Total length              1,010 metres (3,314 ft)

Longest span            530 metres (1,739 ft)

Clearance below       45 metres (148 ft)

Opening date            19 December 1991 

When finished in 1991, it replaced the Vangshylla–Kjerringvik Ferry and it gives the communities in Mosvik and Leksvik easier access to the central areas of Innherred. The bridge is the only road crossing of the Trondheimsfjord, and is located on Norwegian National Road 755. The bridge has a span of 530 metres (1,739 ft), making it the longest of its type in the world for two years. The two pylons, both 152 metres (500 ft) tall, are located at Kjerringvik in Mosvik on the west side, and at Vangshylla in Inderoy on the east side. Following the opening, there was a seventeen-year collection of tolls, needed to finance 30% of the NOK 200 million investment. In 2007, the bridge was listed as a cultural heritage.

History

The first meeting of local commercial and political interests to establish a bridge was made in 1972. By 1983, it was formalized by the establishment of the company AS Skarnsundsbrua to finance construction. The Norwegian Parliament passed the plans in 1986, and construction started two years later. The main contractor was Aker; and after the bridge was finished, maintenance was taken over by the Nord-Trondelag Public Roads Administration. The bridge cost NOK 200 million. The bridge was opened by King Harald V on 19 December 1991, after he had taken the last ferry across the fjord. A monument, the King's Stone, bearing the signature of the king, is located at the resting place on the Mosvik side. Following the opening, it won several awards: the Concrete Plate (1992); Beautiful Roads Award (1994); and the international FIP Award (1994). In 2008, the Norwegian Directorate for Cultural Heritage listed the bridge as a protected cultural heritage.