An engineering team has won a contract to build the Julsundet crossing, one of the world‘s longest suspension bridges in Norway. Arup, Aas-Jakobsen, and the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) have agreed to collaborate on detailed designs for the bridge which will be 2,010m long with a 1,625m main span.
The bridge will be 1m longer than Scandinavia’s current one, the Storebaelt (alias the Great Belt Fixed Link) connecting the Danish islands of Zealand and Funen. It will also appear in the top 10 list of the world’s longest suspension bridges at number six, just 25m shorter than China’s Xihoumen Bridge but 398m shorter than Turkey’s newly opened titleholder, the 1915 Anakkale Bridge.
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Norway’s Julsundet crossing construction
The Julsundet crossing construction works will be led by the NPRA, with engineering consultancy services provided by Arup, a British multinational professional services which provides design, engineering, architecture, planning, and advisory services across every aspect of the built environment.
Arup’s engineers will take the lead on the orthotropic steel deck design, performing cutting-edge bridge fatigue analysis using detailed modelling and stress extraction techniques to ensure the bridge’s long-term viability.
Jesper Jensen, Arup business development manager for Scandinavia stated, “This project is a stepping stone towards developing other major infrastructure projects in Scandinavia, building on our business relationship with the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Aas-Jakobsen. We are enlisting the help of global experts to make sure the successful completion of this technically difficult and ambitious design, which will become one of the longest suspension bridges in the World.”
The Julsundet crossing project is part of the NPRA’s E39 lesund to Molde upgrade program, which aims to improve the road’s infrastructure resilience. It will help the NPRA achieve its goal of building a ferry-free coastal highway.
