At around 1.15 PM today, the final blast of rock took place in the 10.7 kilometer undersea road tunnel connecting the islands of Streymoy and Sandoy.
94-year old Sandur resident Harriet Krog Jensen had the honor of ordering the last blast. As the afternoon’s ceremonial event was broadcast live by KvF, however, due to a loss of connection, viewers were not able to see the action as the last blast cleared the last meters of the tunnel, although the boom could be heard through the loudspeakers.
“Today is a very special day in the history of our road infrastructure,” Minister of Finance Jørgen Niclasen noted in a speech during the ceremony.
“There would be quite a few who predicted that this day was never to come; that an undersea tunnel to Sandoy would never become a reality. This would be too costly; there are too few inhabitants on the island, and [the ferry] will doubtlessly suffice. But times change. And so do opinions.”
Indeed with breakthrough now a reality, the implications of the massive piece of infrastructure will start to become more noticeable as the building project enters its final stages.
Construction began in the summer of 2019, and the tunnel is expected to be opened for public traffic at the latest in December 2023, as per schedule.
The Sandoy Tunnel (Sandoyartunnilin) will be the Faroe Islands’ fourth subsea road tunnel, following on the heels of the Vagar Tunnel (Vágatunnilin) opened in 2002, the Northern Tunnel (Norðoyatunnilin) opened in 2006 and the Eysturoy Tunnel (Eysturoyartunnilin) opened in 2020.