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There are ways to explore the seven mountains surrounding the picturesque UNESCO World Heritage city of Bergen on Norway’s fjord west coast. However, the latest may break records.
A three-kilometer (1.8 mi) pedestrian and bicycle tunnel has been blown up through the foothills of Løvstakken, and its builders say it’s the longest tunnel ever built for the purposes of this type.
Fyllingsdalstunnelen, as it is known, opened on April 15 with a day of family sports, after four constructions that began in February 2019. The large state-funded project has cost nearly $29 million, or 300 million Norwegian kroner.
Camilla Einarsen Heggernes, a spokeswoman for the railway company Bybanen Utbygging, told CNN: “We Norwegians are usually humble people.
It takes less than 10 minutes to go through the tunnel by bike and about 40 minutes by foot. To break up the monotony of the windowless tunnel, there are various art installations throughout, as well as different colors and lights to help users locate their place on the journey and bring them back to life. sense of direction.
At the center point is a “sundial” installation – where the sun will certainly never shine – showing the time of day, again helping to orient visitors and also to disrupt long vision. The tunnel, on the other hand, is perfectly straight, except for slight curves at the entrance and exit.
If you are wondering how cyclists and pedestrians can use the same space, there are two lanes in the tunnel: a 3.5 meter wide bike lane and a wide lane. 2.5 meters for pedestrians and joggers. Einarsen Heggernes explains: “We laid out a blue rubber floor throughout the tunnel, similar to an athletic track. “This makes it more pleasant to use than a person just walking on the asphalt.”
The new tunnel was born as a byproduct of Bergen’s second Bybanen tram line, opening in November 2022. The mountain tramway required a parallel evacuation tunnel, so the developers were decided to make the new tunnel versatile.
Bergen is Norway’s second largest city and the port city is connected to the Norwegian capital Oslo by the 496 km long Bergensbanen railway. This scenic rail journey crosses Europe’s largest mountain plateau, Hardangervidda, and its snow-covered landscape is the setting for the battle scenes in the “Star Wars” sequel “The Empire Strikes Back”.
While the Fyllingsdalstunnelen claims to be the longest bicycle tunnel in the world, the reason for that caveat is the 3.6-kilometer Snoqualmie Tunnel in Washington, just east of Seattle. This former train tunnel is now a walkway for cyclists, runners, and pedestrians and is part of the 250-mile Palouse Trail to Cascades State Park.
Six European cities made CNN Travel’s recent list of 10 cities around the world most of the cities are bike-friendly. Copenhagen has 385 km of bike lanes, having introduced the first one way in 1892. Strasbourg in France has around 6,000 bicycles available at 24/7 self-service stations that tourists can use. And the Swiss capital Bern has an interesting downhill route for riders who feel the need for speed. Best of all, cyclists can ride the cable car up to the top and then down – no struggle uphill.
