Concerns over poor condition of tunnels

On Friday, a rock dropped down from the ceiling of the Kollafjørður tunnel, causing a car to crash.

The car was heavily damaged but luckily there was no personal injury.

However, this is not an isolated incident: Faroese tunnels are in bad shape and some are even unsafe for drivers, according to road and tunnel authority Landsverk.

Lack of maintenance funds 

This rather vague description is all we have, because it is 12 years since Lansverk last investigated the quality of the tunnels.

Landsverk has repeatedly spoken out on the poor contidion of the country’s tunnels, calling for more funding to cover much-needed maintenance work.

The current annual grant for tunnel maintenance work is around DKK 4 million, but this is only enough for Landsverk's tunnel team to work on one to three tunnels per year due to the poor conditions.

However, the company adds, the situation is now so bad that even with a tripling of the annual maintenance grant, it would take about 15 years to get all the country’s tunnels up to the required safety standards.

Translated by prosa.fo