Using new bridge and tunnel building techniques and set to cut travel times in half, the complete reconstruction of the E39, along the West Coast of Norway, is at the center of a new series of films launched today – putting the people and machines behind this innovative project in the spotlight.
Norway is well-known for its breathtaking coastline, with high mountains and deep fjords. But there’s a downside to this spectacular landscape. At the moment, the Coastal Highway Route E39 between Kristiansand in the south and Trondheim in the north is a journey of around 21 hours. Yet about a third of Norway’s 5.3 million people live along this highway, which is also an important trade route for Norwegian businesses, as some 60% of the country’s export goods are produced on the West Coast. In addition, when the E39 leaves Norway it proceeds to Denmark, making it an important entry point to the rest of Europe.
And if – like Håvard Langåker, a truck driver for Vassbakk & Stol – your job means driving this stretch of coastline, then things can be hard. “I go and get the rocks at the construction site and then I drive it to the other sites in need of material,” explains Langåker. “On the road I need to wait for ferries, stand in ferry lines, deal with cancelled ferries and narrow roads. We have island and fjords with roads which follow the coastline. It takes the longest way, not the shortest, therefore it is quite time consuming.” But all this is about to change.
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