Norway has an ambitious plan to decongest local ferries that run between fjords by building a series of underwater floating tunnels that will allow travelers to cross Norwegian waters underwater.
The "floating tunnels" will consist of large tubes suspended from floats and located 30 meters below the water. Each tunnel will be large enough to accommodate two lanes of traffic. Their construction will ease the congestion that currently exists on many ferries as it requires the daily movement of many people between the many fjords that the country has.
Currently, a trip from Kristiansand to Trondheim (680 miles) could take up to 21 hours, due to the seven ferries required to change along the way. This inefficient method of transportation is largely due to the many fjords and difficult terrain.
Upon completion of the project (in 2035), which is estimated to cost $25 billion, travel time will be reduced to just 10 hours.
The country already has 1,150 traffic tunnels, 35 of which are submerged under water, but not floating, so Norwegians are quite familiar with this type of technology.
