Lofast

3.3 km Slöverfjord submarine tunnel

Lofast ( Nor. Lofast or Nor. Lofoten Mainland Connection ) is part of the E10 route that connects the Lofoten archipelago to the mainland, providing direct access to Lofoten from the surrounding communes.

The construction of the road began in the autumn of 1993 and was temporarily stopped in 1998, when the first part was built. In 2003, construction was resumed and on December 1, 2007, Lobast was officially opened in the presence of Queen Sonya ^[1] . In fact, Lofast connects Lofoten with the old Hinnoya island road network which, in turn, connects to the mainland. Previously, the E10 route between Lofoten and the Westerolen archipelago was a ferry crossing Melbu – Fiskeböl ( Norwegian Melbu – Fiskebøl Ferry ) ^[2] . This road passed through several cities with uneven speed limits. Lofast is much shorter, passes through Hinnoya Island to the mainland without the use of ferry crossings and allows movement at a relatively high speed. For example, the bus route from Harstad / Narvik Airport , located in Evenes to Svolvaer , located on the Lofoten Islands, used to last 4 hours 15 minutes, including a ferry crossing (210 km), now the same route, including stops, takes 3 hours (170 km ) ^[3] . This route can be reduced to two hours when traveling by car and without stops.

All major islands of Lofoten are interconnected by bridges or underground tunnels. Due to this, after the construction of Lofast, most of the Lofoten Islands now have a direct connection with continental Norway . Lofast passes through several tunnels, the longest of which are Sördal ( Norwegian Sørdal Tunnel ) - 6.3 km and Søverfjord ( Norwegian Sløverfjord Tunnel ) - 3.3 km, as well as along the Raftsund bridge . Between Hinnoya Island and the mainland, the Helsund Bridge is located.