Norway ship tunnel: Norway to spend $315m building world’s first ship tunnel - TomoNews

OSLO, NORWAY — Norway will spend $315 million building the world’s first ship tunnel in a bid to improve maritime safety and cut journey times.The 1,700-meter-long Stad Ship Tunnel will carve through the solid rock of the Stad peninsula in western Norway, allowing ships weighing up to 16,000 tons to pass between two fjords.The tunnel will allow cargo vessels and passenger ships to navigate more safely through the notoriously stormy Stadhavet Sea, according to a press release from the Norwegian Coastal Administration.The team behind the tunnel expects that five ships per hour will be able to pass through it. A traffic light system will be used to show when it’s safe to pass. Construction on the project will begin by 2019 at the earliest, with completion expected by 2023.