Stord Bridge

Stord Bridge
Coordinates	59°44′51″N 5°24′10″E / 59.74750°N 5.40278°E / 59.74750; 5.40278Coordinates: 59°44′51″N 5°24′10″E / 59.74750°N 5.40278°E / 59.74750; 5.40278
Carries	Two lanes of E39 One pedestrian/bicycle path
Crosses	Digernessundet
Locale	Stord, Norway
Official name	Stordabrua
Maintained by	Norwegian Public Roads Administration
Characteristics
Design	Suspension bridge
Total length	1,077 m (3,533 ft)
Width	13.5 m (44 ft)
Longest span	677 m (2,221 ft)
Clearance below	18 m (59 ft)
History
Opened	28 December 2000
Statistics
Daily traffic	6,690

The Stord Bridge (Norwegian: Stordabrua) is a suspension bridge which crosses Digernessundet between the islands of Stord and Føyno in Stord, Norway. The bridge is 1,077 meters (3,533 ft) long, has a main span of 677 meters (2,221 ft) and a clearance below of 18 meters (59 ft). It carries two lanes of European Route E39 and a combined pedestrian and bicycle pathway. It is part of the Triangle Link, a fixed link which connects Stord to Bømlo, and both to the mainland. In 2010, the bridge had an average 5,021 vehicles per day. The bridge and the link was a toll road from the opening until 30 May 2013.

Plans for a crossing arose in the 1960s; and until the 1990s proposals were for a pontoon bridge further north. The Stord Bridge was conceived after the decision to combine the crossing with the Bømlafjord Tunnel. The project was resisted both by local environmental groups and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, the latter because the new plans would delay completion. Construction was undertaken by a joint venue between NCC and HBG Steel Structures. Construction started in 1999 and was the first bridge in Norway to have the cables spun on-site. The bridge cost 442 million Norwegian krone (NOK) and was taken into use on 27 December 2000.

The motivation for the Triangle Link was the desire to have a fixed link between the islands of Stord and Bømlo. The first documented proposals were made in the 1960s and involved building a pontoon bridge across Stokksundet, inspired by the plans to build what would become the Nordhordland Bridge north of Bergen. In 1973, the municipal councils of Bømlo, Stord and Fitjar decided to launch a planning process, which concluded that a pontoon bridge between Sørstokken and Foldrøyholmen would be optimal. The report also considered bridges across the Fitjar Archipelago and a crossing via Spissøy and Føyno. There were protests from the shipping industry, who wished to continue to use the strait for ship traffic. The islands were connected with a network of five ferry services: Skjersholmane–Valevåg connected Stord and Sveio, Skjersholmane–Utbjoa connected Stord and Vindafjord, Sagvåg–Siggjarvåg connected Stord and Bølmo, and Bømlo was connected to the mainland both by the Mosterhamn–Valevåg Ferry and the Langevåg–Buavåg Ferry.

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