Yesterday afternoon, the Dýrafjörður Tunnel was opened in the Westfjords, allowing residents to travel safely between the north and south of the Westfjords. The tunnel shortens the route by 26 km and replaces the road through the Hrafnseyrarheiði Pass.
Sigurður Ingi Jóhannsson, Minister of Communications, and Bergþóra Þorkelsdóttir, CEO of Vegagerðin, spoke at the official opening of the tunnel, which took place online. Their speeches were broadcast by radio to cars waiting for their first pass through the tunnel.
At the end of the speech, the minister asked the guard of Vegagerðin from Ísafjörður to raise the barrier at the mouth of the tunnel and thus open it to traffic.
The Westfjords have offered to gather in their cars on both sides of the tunnel, and thus be able to drive through the tunnel as soon as it opens. Children from Þingeyri were the first to cross the tunnel together with Gunnar Gísli, who had been regularly removing snow from the road through Hrafnseyrarheiði for 46 years since 1974.
More information about the tunnel can be found on the website Icelandic Road Administration / Vegagerðin.
mmb / visir.is
Source: Yle