Evaluation of the innovative Bridge Concepts for the Extreme Norwegian Fjord Crossings

Since the ferry free E39 project was initiated, the feasibility of different Long-Span Bridge concepts have been investigated for some of the most challenging fjord crossings (Bjørnafjorden, Sulafjorden, Halsafjorden). All studied concepts exceed 2 km in length and are faced with depths of the seabed ranging from 400 m to 1200 m, rendering conventional support solutions inadequate. The bridge concepts referred to in the present paper are Single Span Suspension Bridges, Multi-Span Suspension Bridges on floating foundations, Submerged Floating Tube Bridges (SFTB), Side Anchored Floating Bridges and End Anchored Floating Bridges.

The purpose of the present paper is to highlight the main alternatives that have been studied at the time of writing and to provide the reader with an overview of the realm of application of the different concepts.