Hålogaland Bridge

With a main span of 1,145 metres, it is the longest spanning bridge ever built north of the Arctic Circle.

Hålogaland Bridge incarnates a principle most architects and engineers seem to agree on; while bridges need to be functional, safe and durable, they should also be elegant and beautiful. When done right, bridges become a symbol of their location and part of the local story and legacy.

The distinctive appearance of Hålogaland Bridge has been achieved by A-towers, a spatial cable system and the main cable anchorage in rock, all of which minimise the visual and physical impact on the surroundings and unite the structure with the surrounding mountains.

A distinctive suspension bridge

Hålogaland Bridge is a distinctive suspension bridge with its simple and logical design and features like its A-shaped pylons and illuminated pylon tops. In general, suspension bridges are considered to be among the most elegant types of bridges, but it can be difficult to give them an individual appearance because of their simple, dominant expression in the curve of the main cables. This is not the case for Hålogaland Bridge; the location and special functional requirements such as a narrow bridge deck and long bridge span mean it was possible to achieve a distinctive look for the suspension bridge.

The low volume of traffic called for a narrow box girder carrying two lanes of road traffic beside a bicycle/pedestrian lane. Combined with a main span length of more than 1,145 metres, the record-breaking slender bridge pushes the boundaries of aerodynamic design.

The design and construction can contend with powerful Arctic winds and thermal expansion-contraction in a region where seasonal temperature swings reach 40 degrees centigrade. The bridge marks a significant advancement due to these extreme natural stresses and conditions.

Faster and safer

Hålogaland Bridge allows quicker, easier and more reliable travel across the deep waters of Rombaksfjorden in the city of Narvik as a part of the E6 Narvik – Bjerkvik, Norway’s primary north-south highway. The bridge shortens the E6 by as much as 18 kilometres and draws traffic away from a stretch of E6 to reduce the risk of accidents, avalanches and landslides.

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