People in the southeast of the island Sandoy are celebrating these days following the opening, a week ago, of Dalstunnilin, a 2.2-kilometer road tunnel that safely connects the tiny village Dalur to its northern, slightly larger neighbor Húsavík.
The new mountain tunnel replaces an old, almost 5km, narrow coastal road that goes along a steep cliffside and, on top of that, is prone to rockfalls and landslides.
The switch from having that notorious half-hour ride as the only de facto travel option, to instead being able to pick the smooth five-minute cruise through the Dalstunnilin, is widely expected to have a substantial impact on traffic to and from Dalur and, ultimately, the attracting power of the village.
With the long-coming tunnel at last completed, the 38-population settlement of Dalur, down from 75 only four decades ago, has now been handed its proverbial lifeline amid hopes that the vastly improved road connection will turn the tide—in particular as it follows on the back of the opening of the giant underwater Sandoy Tunnel (Sandoyartunnilin), which made Sandoy part of the Faroese Mainland.
The official opening of the Dalstunnilin brought together crowds of people from the villages of Sandoy and beyond, with Jacob Vestergaard, the Minister of Trade and Industry, cutting the ceremonial ribbon and giving an inaugural address, and the mayor of Húsavík Municipality, Anna Paulina Leo Olsen, holding a speech as well. Further adding weight to the celebrations was the attendance by Prime Minister Beinir Johannesen.
Prior to the speeches and ribbon-cutting ceremony, Faroese Road Authority Landsverk’s Head of Division of Design and Construction, Sigurð Ó. Vang, offered a greeting.
The festive mood was underscored, amongst other things, by live brass music delivered by Havnar Hornorkestur at the mouth of the tunnel on the Dalur side amid an event program that started with a public run and bicycle ride from Húsavík to Dalur through the new tunnel.
True to Faroese tunnel inauguration tradition, the most senior driver of Dalur would drive through the tunnel to mark its official opening for public traffic, after a first crossing with schoolchildren by veteran driver Sjúrður Nolsøe.
“A splendid day at Dalur on July 18th, 2026, now that, at last, the Dalstunnilin was completed and officially opened,” commented blogger and former teacher Bergljót av Skarði. “The weather was exceptional and a lot of people came to Dalur on this day.”
“Anna Paulina [Leo Olsen], the mayor of Húsavík Municipality, held an excellent speech on the great theme of the difference between cost and value,” av Skarði added. “The cost of a tunnel is one thing, its value and usefulness for the local people quite another.”
Earthwork on Dalstunnilin was initiated back in 2019. According to Landsverk, the estimated total cost of the tunnel and connecting roads is 180 million DKK (24mn EUR).
