Norway greenlights first full-scale ship tunnel

notfried

When an architecture company seemingly uses AI to render mockups, they really need to ensure consistency and accuracy. It's not that difficult nowadays. It was quite confusing trying to understand the differences in design between pictures and to compute why the tunnel seems so short compared to the mountain, until I realized it must have been laziness; not laziness because they are using AI, but laziness to do their job right.

mkl

Having no map is weird. Wikipedia has one: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stad_Ship_Tunnel

eesmith

Previous HN postings which had comments are: "A plan to build a ship tunnel" (2017), at http://newatlas.com/stad-ship-tunnel-interview-terje-andreas... with 29 comments at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13920841 "First ship tunnel to be built under Norwegian mountains" (2021), at https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/norway-ship-tunnel/in... with 25 comments at https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26540805 See also gCaptain at https://gcaptain.com/worlds-first-ship-tunnel-to-bypass-dang... from 2017 and https://gcaptain.com/norway-gives-green-light-for-worlds-fir... from 2021.

nairboon

That's kind of cool. Norway also has roundabouts in tunnels. I guess they like tunnels.

bigpeopleareold

The first time I heard about this was last week when I was listening to the economic issues that the article mentions on NRK "political quarter" (NRK is the national broadcaster) with the word "waste" being thrown around a lot. This article from VG debates the cost and puts it into contrast what could have been done instead: https://www.vg.no/nyheter/i/q6k3ko/skipstunnelen-er-historis... ... it's been contentious as I understand.

philipwhiuk

I'm not hugely sure I see the point - it doesn't link to anywhere major. Is Måløy to Åheim a major route?

dgellow

Only 4 years of work to be ready? That sounds pretty optimistic ( crying in German )

swiftcoder

That's a pretty metal approach to navigation. Despite being missing from the AI rendering, I really hope they are going to put big breakwaters around the tunnel entrances - the last thing you want is a storm swell entering your tunnel...

Someone

FTA: Norway will start building the first full-size ship tunnel in the world And “Full-size” means what? Sea-faring? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canal_tunnel lists several tunnels that ships can pass through, and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rove_Tunnel , to me, seems to have supported decently sized ships.

fuoqi

I wonder how much would it cost to build a tunnel as an alternative to the Panama canal to fundamentally resolve the drought issues. 1.8 km is comparable to ~80 km (probably a shorter tunnel will suffice) and dimensions are also similar (at least for the old Panamax).

christophilus

It will be interesting to see if it’s ever completed. I imagine dealing with ship fumes in a tunnel will be a challenge. And, I’m curious what the plan is when a ship runs into the sides or breaks down halfway through. Super cool project nonetheless. I hope it succeeds.