The Vigra Fixed Link also known as the Ålesund Tunnels , is a fixed link connecting the archipelago

Archipelago

An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...

 and municipality

Municipalities of Norway

Norway is divided into 19 administrative regions, called counties , and 430 municipalities...

 of Giske

Giske

Giske is an island and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It lies north-northwest of the town of Ålesund in the Sunnmøre traditional district. The municipal center is the village of Nordstrand on the island of Valderøy. Other population centers include the villages of Roald and...

 and the peninsula of Ellingsøy

Ellingsøy

Ellingsøy or Ellingsøya is the northernmost island in the municipality of Ålesund in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. With an area of , Ellingsøy is the second largest island in the municipality. The island is located northeast of the town of Ålesund, north of the islands of Nørvøya and Oksenøya,...

 to the mainland and Ålesund

Ålesund

is a town and municipality in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. It is part of the traditional district of Sunnmøre, and the center of the Ålesund Region. It is a sea port, and is noted for its unique concentration of Art Nouveau architecture....

. It consists of the 3520 metres (11,548.6 ft) long Ellingsøy Tunnel

Ellingsøy Tunnel

The Ellingsøy Tunnel is a subsea road tunnel which runs between Downtown Ålesund and Ellingsøy in Ålesund, Norway. The tunnel is long; it is part of County Road 658 and the Vigra Fixed Link. It opened in 1987 and was a toll road until 25 October 2009....

 between Ålesund and Ellingsøy, the 4222 metres (13,851.7 ft) long Valderøy Tunnel

Valderøy Tunnel

The Valderøy Tunnel is a subsea road tunnel which runs between Ellingsøy and Valderøy in Ålesund and Giske, Norway. The tunnel is long; it is part of County Road 658 and the Vigra Fixed Link. It opened in 1987 and was a toll road until 25 October 2009....

 from Ellingsøy to Valderøy

Valderøy

Valderøya is an island off the west coast of Norway. It is part of the municipality of Giske in Møre og Romsdal county. The island is connected to Ålesund in the south via undersea tunnels through the island of Ellingsøy, to the island Vigra to the north by a bridge, and to the island of Giske to...

, the 3844 metres (12,611.5 ft) long Godøy Tunnel

Godøy Tunnel

The Godøy Tunnel is a subsea road tunnel which runs between Giske and Godøy in Giske, Norway. The tunnel is long; it is part of County Road 658 and the Vigra Fixed Link. It opened in 1989....

 between Valderøy and Godøy

Godøy

Godøy is an island in the municipality of Giske in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The island is famous for its beautiful nature, dominated by the tall mountain Storhornet and the large lake Alnesvatnet....

, and the Giske Bridge

Giske Bridge

Giske Bridge is a concrete beam bridge between the islands of Valderøya and Giske in the municipality of Giske in Møre og Romsdal county, Norway. The bridge is long, the longest span is , and the maximum clearance to the sea is . The bridge has 11 spans....

 from Valderøy to Giske

Giske (island)

Giske is an island in the municipality of Giske, Norway. It convers an area of and had 717 residents in 2010. It is flat, with the highest point above mean sea level, and is the seat of Giske Church from 1180. It is connected by the Giske Bridge to Valderøy and by the Godøy Tunnel to Godøy....

 island. Valderøy was already connected by bridge to the island of Vigra

Vigra

Vigra is an island and former municipality on the west coast of Norway. It is in the present-day municipality of Giske in Møre og Romsdal county. The former municipality was made up of the island of Vigra along with many smaller islets surrounding it...

, which meant that the fixed link also connected Ålesund to Ålesund Airport, Vigra

Ålesund Airport, Vigra

Ålesund Airport, Vigra is an airport which serves the city of Ålesund in Norway and the surrounding regions Sunnmøre, Nordfjord and Romsdal. The airport is located on the island of Vigra in the Giske municipality, northeast of Ålesund city centre and easily accessible through underseas tunnels...

. The fixed link opened between 1987 and 1989, and was financed as a toll road

Toll road

A toll road is a privately or publicly built road for which a driver pays a toll for use. Structures for which tolls are charged include toll bridges and toll tunnels. Non-toll roads are financed using other sources of revenue, most typically fuel tax or general tax funds...

. The link is part of County Road 658.

History

The two first tunnels, Ellingsøy and Valderøy, and the Giske Bridge were opened by King Olav V

Olav V of Norway

Olav V was the king of Norway from 1957 until his death. A member of the House of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg, Olav was born in the United Kingdom as the son of King Haakon VII of Norway and Queen Maud of Norway...

 on 20 October 1987. The Godøy Tunnel opened two years later. The project was among the first subsea tunnels in Norway.

The project cost 780 million Norwegian krone

Norwegian krone

The krone is the currency of Norway and its dependent territories. The plural form is kroner . It is subdivided into 100 øre. The ISO 4217 code is NOK, although the common local abbreviation is kr. The name translates into English as "crown"...

 (NOK), all of which was financed by debt taken up by the partially publicly owned company Ålesund og Giske Tunnel- og Brusamband AS. The fixed link received a concession to collect tolls for 22 years. The project was built in a period with much optimism, and the banks were more than willing to lend large sums for the project. However, by the time the project was finished, the interest rate had increased to 16.5%, and the toll company could not pay the interest, let alone the principal sum. By 1990, the company was nearly bankrupt, but was saved by an agreement with the banks. Other factors contributing to the financial problems was the choice late in the project to include the Giske Bridge and Godøy Tunnel, as well as lower traffic than estimated.

When the tolls were removed on 25 October 2009, drivers had paid NOK 1,37 billion, while the company still had NOK 1,38 billion in outstanding debt. As the tunnels are owned by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration

Norwegian Public Roads Administration

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration is a Norwegian government agency responsible for the state and county public roads in the country. This includes planning, construction and operation of the state and county road networks, driver training and licensing, vehicle inspection and subsidies to...

, the concession has run out, and the company has no assets, the debt capital is lost for the banks. The financial difficulties was one of the main reasons that Sunnmørsbanken went bankrupt in the early 1990s. Other banks that have lost capital include Bankenes Sikringsfond, DnB NOR

DnB NOR

DNB ASA is Norway's largest financial services group with total combined assets of more than NOK 2.0 trillion and a market capitalisation NOK 102 billion as per December the 31st. The Group includes brands such as DNB, Vital, Nordlandsbanken, Cresco, Postbanken, DnB NORD and Carlson...

, Nordea

Nordea

Nordea Bank AB is a Stockholm-based financial services group operating in Northern Europe. The bank is the result of the successive mergers and acquisitions of the Swedish, Finnish, Danish and Norwegian banks of Nordbanken, Merita Bank, Unibank and Kreditkassen that took place between 1997 and 2000...

, Fokus Bank

Fokus Bank

Fokus Bank is a brand name for Danske Bank's Norwegian operation. Danske Bank has long been one of the largest banks in Scandinavia.Fokus Bank has 41 local branches spread around all of Norway. The main office is in Trondheim and the bank employs approximately 1,000 workers...

, Sparebanken Møre and Ørsta Sparebank. An upgrade in 2008 and 2009 of the Ellingsøy and Valderøy tunnels was completed on 10 October 2009. The upgrades cost NOK 448 million, which included better fire protection. During parts of the reconstruction, the tunnels were closed and a ferry was put into service from Ålesund to Valderøy and Ellingsøy.