Metrostav Norge worked on the Fámjimstunnilin project, its first contract in the Faroe Islands, as a subcontractor to Faroese construction company J&K Petersen. The investor is Landsverk, the Faroese equivalent of the Czech Road and Motorway Directorate (ŘSD). When excavating the tunnel, builders had to deal with complicated geological conditions and, for example, had to cope with harsh conditions such as incredible amounts of snow and storms, when the wind force reached a speed of 90 km an hour, with gusts of up to 200 km an hour. Such unfavourable weather conditions were the main reason for the construction of the tunnel in the first place, which will improve the quality of life of local residents on the island significantly after completion.
"I think that we and the whole team agree that this construction job was one big adventure. A new country with specific new conditions to which we had to adapt because there was no other choice. Many of us have worked on plenty of projects until now, coped with different challenges throughout our careers, but this project was one of the most challenging in all ways. We had plenty of hard times and plenty of good times here, and this eventually made up for the harsh environment. And although construction was far from simple from the technical or logistical perspective, not to mention the natural conditions, we approached it head on and successfully completed the work. And for that, a huge thank you to the whole team and to all those involved in construction in any way," said Anton Vido, Project Manager at Metrostav Norge.
Tunnel excavations were carried out from October 2022 using the Scandinavian Drill and Blast method, of which Czech workers have extensive experience from constructing tunnels in Finland, Norway, and Iceland. A total of 82,000 m³ of material was excavated, composed mostly of basalt. The new road tunnel is 8.5 m wide and has a profile of 65 m². It is followed by the road towards Øroðvík and 400 m towards Fámjin. The original excavations were planned over 33 weeks, but two collapses meant they had to be extended by 31 weeks.
Construction work should be completed by the end of August this year.
Radim Mana
Metrostav Group Press Officer
Metrostav a.s., Koželužská 2450/4, 180 00 Praha 8
T +420 266 019 715, M +420 601 110 376
radim.mana@metrostav.cz
