E16 Lærdal Tunnel
Where?
- Counties:
- Vestland
- Municipalities:
- Aurland, Lærdal
What?
The Lærdal Tunnel is 24.5 km long and was opened in November 2000. The tunnel is the longest road tunnel in the world, and it will now be upgraded to meet today's safety requirements.
Why?
Since 2015, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) has upgraded national road tunnels throughout the country. This will provide better fire safety, control systems and other safety measures. The Lærdal Tunnel is more than 25 years old and ripe for upgrading.
Map
Progress
Since 2015, the NPRA has been working to upgrade 200 national road tunnels throughout the country. The goal is to meet the requirements of the Tunnel Safety Regulations.
The NPRA issued an invitation to tender for the contract to upgrade the world's longest road tunnel in October 2025. Four companies have expressed their interest in submitting tenders.
Upgrading of the E16 Lærdal Tunnel will start in the autumn of 2026.
The tunnel is planned to be closed at night while the work is going on, and buses will be let through at given times to ensure the transport of people between the two municipalities. Separate arrangements will be made for emergency response vehicles and medical assistance services, to allow them through.
Due to high rock stresses, work on the tunnel will be particularly demanding. Once the heaviest work with blasting and securing has been completed, it will be possible to allow a little more traffic through the tunnel, even though work will be going on at night.
The work will continue until 2030/31.
Facts and key figures
- Length:
- 24.5 km
- Project start:
- Autumn 2026
- Expected opened:
- 2031
More about the project
The Lærdal Tunnel is the world's longest road tunnel with a length of 24,509 metres. The tunnel was completed in 2000 and is part of the TEN-T road network. The average daily traffic in the tunnel is approximately 2,100 vehicles, with a heavy vehicle share of 26%.
Included in the project:
- Construction of new technical buildings in the tunnel – a total of 28
- Blasting and securing rock chambers for these buildings
- Establishment of emergency lay-bys near all technical buildings
- Expansion of emergency turning bays in the tunnel
- Emergency cabinets with telephone and fire extinguishers every 250 metres
- Camera surveillance
- DAB radio with a break-in system
- New barriers and signs
- New lighting and emergency lights
- Emergency network
- New and improved ventilation in the tunnel tube
- New ventilator fans for outlet to Tynjadalen
- Treatment pool for wash water and separation of toxic and flammable liquids
An invitation to tender for the tunnel upgrade project was issued in the autumn of 2025, and the work is scheduled to start in the autumn of 2026.
