Suðuroyartunnilin

The Suðuroyartunnilin (Suðuroy Tunnel) is a proposed submerged fixed-link in the Faroe Islands, linking the island of Suðuroy to Sandoy. Currently all vehicles and cargo, and virtually all passenger traffic must use the ferry service.

Current situation[]

At present, a ferry service operates between Krambatangi on central Suðuroy and the capital Tórshavn. The ferry is operated by the national transport company Strandfaraskip Landsins and uses the vessel Smyril, taking two hours each way. In 2019, on average 1,000 passengers (including the drivers) and 290 vehicles embarked on the ferry per day.^[2] The frequency is either twice or three times per day, though the service is frequently cancelled in winter due to adverse weather and heavy seas, since the Suðuroyarfjørður strait is exposed to swell and strong tidal currents (with in places), and funnels northwesterlies.

On Sandoy, the Sandoyartunnilin will connect the southern islands to Tórshavn and the rest of the country when it opens in 2023. It replaces the ferry service between Skopun and Gamlarætt.^[3]

If the Suðuroyartunnilin would route via Skúvoy, it would add Skúvoy to the road network and replace the passenger ferry service between the eponymous village and Sandur. The ferry operates multiple trips per day, most of which need to be reserved in advance.^[4]

The Suðuroyartunnilin would be the first direct link between Sandoy and Suðuroy - the two southern sýslur (districts) - in decades. Currently they are only marginally linked via a twice-weekly helicopter service, running the route Tórshavn-Skúvoy-Stóra Dímun-Froðba, which does not call at Sandoy itself.

Project[]

The calls for a fixed link to Suðuroy emerged after the success of the two earliest sub-sea tunnels in the Faroe Islands, the Vágatunnilin and Norðoyatunnilin in 2002 and 2006 respectively. The idea was further popularised with the construction of the Eysturoyartunnilin (opened in December 2020) and Sandoyartunnilin (under construction and to be completed in 2023).^[5][3]

In October 2021, public works authority Landsverk published a preliminary cost–benefit analysis that calculated the net present value for four tunnel options and two ferry options.^[6][7] These include:

The total investment cost of a tunnel, excluding connecting roads, would range from 3.6 to 5.4 billion DKK, corresponding roughly to one-quarter of the Faroese gross national income.^[9] At most 10% of the total costs could be recovered via tolls. Projected daily ridership for both directions combined ranges from 1,060 (option 5) to 1,370 motor vehicles per day (option 3).^[6]

Parameters included in the analysis were operational costs, write-off (ferry Smyril), substitution effects, user prices (tolls or ferry tickets), demographic effects, employment effects, inflation and increase of wages, carbon dioxide emissions (during construction and operation) and the volume of debris generated in tunnel construction. As for option 5, the cost-benefit analysis did not consider the move of Suðuroy's ferry terminal northwards to Hvalba, which would further reduce the distance to 29.6 kilometres. It would, however, add 11 kilometers by road from Krambatangi.^[10]

In an earlier study, Landsverk stated that its preferred scenario included Skúvoy, so that the Suðuroyartunnilin would replace two ferry services at once. The total estimated costs were 3.4 billion in this study, while ridership would be 800 motor vehicles per direction per day in 2030.^[11][12] The tunnel was intended to be completed in 2030,^{[13] [14][15]} though the new analysis does not indicate a time horizon for completion.

Landsverk constructed a new Hvalbiartunnil between Trongisvágur and Hvalba. This tunnel replaced the old tunnel from 1963. However, if the Suðuroyartunnilin surface at Sandvík, also the Sandvíkartunnilin needs to be replaced. A new tunnel of 2.5 kilometres has an estimated cost of 219 million DKK.^[6]

See also[]

• List of tunnels of the Faroe Islands

References[]