The longest tunnel in the Faroe Islands, the stunning self-governing archipelago in Denmark, connects Sandoy to Streymoy.
At 6.7 miles, the new ‘Sandoyartunnilin’ brings Sandoy’s population of just 1,200 at a reachable 30-minute drive from the largest and most populated island Streymoy, as well as the Faroese capital, Tórshavn.
The long-awaited Sandoy Tunnel opened to the public on December 21, 2023, marking the end of the island’s relative isolation.
The tunnel reaches an incredible depth of 508ft below the seabed and cost £150million to construct.
With a celebratory toll-free stint for its first three weeks, the tunnel now charges £20 per car for a one-way trip, with the goal of recovering the project costs over time.
The island’s untouched beauty featuring rolling hills, a rich Viking history, and quaint village clusters is now easily accessible by tourists and locals alike.
Prime Minister Johannesen, speaking at the opening ceremony, said: “We eagerly anticipate the new opportunities and progress the tunnel will bring for the people of Sandoy across all ages and sectors, in both business and recreation, indeed for all Faroese people collectively.”
The Sandoy Tunnel is expected to help reverse the population decline on the island and provide a boost to tourism and local businesses, including their beloved lone café, Caféin á Mølini.
The project is part of a 20-year effort to advance transportation across the islands, and is the Faroes’ fourth subsea tunnel.
The others include Vágatunnilin, which connects the island of Vágar to Streymoy, Norðoyartunnilin, which links Borðoy and Eysturoy, and Eysturoyartunnilin, which runs from the islands of Streymoy to Eysturoy also featuring the world’s first undersea roundabout.
With the completion of four tunnels and two causeways, 90 percent of the Faroese population can now travel between islands without relying on ferries.
This engineering success has also caught the attention of campaigners from other isolated regions, with the backers of the Faroe tunnel system reportedly exploring the possibility of an undersea link between Jersey and Guernsey, with potential extensions to France.