Lofoten Mainland Connection ( Norwegian : Lofotens fastlandsforbindelse ) or Lofast is a part of European route E10 that connects the Norwegian archipelago of Lofoten to the mainland, giving direct access to Lofoten from the surrounding municipalities.
14-466: The construction of this road was started autumn 1993, and temporarily shut down in 1998, when the first part was finished. It started up again in 2003, and Lofast was officially opened December 1, 2007. Actually Lofast connects Lofoten with the older road network on Hinnøya which was already connected to the mainland. E10 from Lofoten to the mainland formerly went through the Vesterålen archipelago, with
28-510: A car without stops. All the larger islands in Lofoten are already connected by bridges or undersea tunnels. This means that after the construction of Lofast most of Lofoten is now connected to the mainland of Norway. The Lofast uses several tunnels, the largest is Sørdal Tunnel (6.3 km) and there is also Sløverfjord Tunnel (3.3 km) and five more tunnels and a 700 m long Raftsund Bridge . The final bridge crossing from Hinnøya over to
42-631: Is in the Ofoten district, and the northeastern part is in Troms . As of 2017 , Hinnøya had a population of 32,688. The only town on the island is the town of Harstad . Some of the larger villages include Borkenes , Lødingen , Sigerfjord , and Sørvik . The island is split between several municipalities: Harstad , Tjeldsund and Kvæfjord in Troms county, as well as Andøy , Hadsel , Lødingen , Sortland , and Vågan in Nordland county. The Old Norse form of
56-550: Is in the northeast, in Harstad and Kvæfjord Municipalities. The southern part is the location of Møysalen National Park , which includes the highest mountain on the island, the 1,262-metre (4,140 ft) tall Møysalen . In the northwestern part of the island, near the village of Forfjord , there is a nature reserve containing a valley with forests and bogs, including the oldest pine trees in Norway, more than 700 years old. The climate of
70-462: Is located between the island of Hinnøya and mainland Norway in its northern part and between Hinnøya and the island of Tjeldøya in its southern part. Tjeldsundet has been an important waterway for more than 1,000 years and was well known and used during the Viking Age . The northern part is in Troms county between Harstad Municipality and Tjeldsund Municipality , while the southern part forms
84-558: Is the fourth-largest island in Norway , and the largest outside the Svalbard archipelago. The 2,204.7-square-kilometre (851.2 sq mi) lies just off the western coast of Northern Norway . The island sits on the border of Nordland and Troms counties. The western part of the island is in the district of Vesterålen , the southwestern part is in the Lofoten district, the southeastern part
98-597: The Melbu–Fiskebøl Ferry . This road went through several towns with uneven speed limits. Lofast is a significantly shorter road connection across Hinnøya to the mainland that requires no ferry crossings and allows driving at relatively high speeds. For instance, the bus ride from Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes to Svolvær in Lofoten, which used to take 4 hours 15 minutes including a ferry trip (210 km), now takes only 3 hours incl. stops (170 km). This trip can even be as short as just over 2 hours if driven with
112-640: The border between Troms and Nordland counties between Tjeldsund Municipality and Lødingen Municipality . The southern entrance to the strait begins at the Ofotfjorden at the village of Lødingen and the town of Harstad is located at the northern entrance of the strait where it empties into the Vågsfjorden . The Tjeldsund Bridge connects Hinnøya to the mainland by the E10 road, also known as King Olav's Road ( Norwegian : Kong Olavs vei ), part of which goes from
126-596: The island of Langøya by the Sortland Bridge , and to the northwest to the island of Andøya by the Andøy Bridge . It is connected to the Lofoten islands by the Lofoten mainland connection which opened on 1 December 2007. That connection is part of the European Route E10 highway. The highway runs near Møysalen National Park. There is also a ferry connection in the southeast between the village of Lødingen and
140-634: The mainland is with the previously existing Tjeldsund Bridge . Later has planning started about improving the road from Lofast eastern end at Gullesfjordbotn to near the Harstad/Narvik Airport. This will include multiple mountain tunnels and an undersea tunnel under the Tjeldsundet strait, and shorten the distance by 35 km and the drive time by 30 minutes. This is expected to be finished by 2030. Hinn%C3%B8ya Hinnøya ( Norwegian ) or Iinnasuolu ( Northern Sami )
154-515: The name was just Hinn (the suffix -øya meaning "the island" was added later). The large island is almost divided in two parts by the Gullesfjorden and Øksfjorden , and the old name is probably derived from an old verb with the meaning "cleave", "split", or "cut". Hinnøya is connected to the mainland by the Tjeldsund Bridge across the Tjeldsundet strait. To the west, it is connected to
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#1732851189815168-429: The narrow Raftsundet strait divides Hinnøya from Austvågøya and between Hinnøya and Andøya goes Risøyrenna strait. The island contains a mostly rugged and mountainous terrain, especially the southern part. There are also valleys and lakes, the largest lake is Storvatnet at 6,67 km . The treeline lies close to 400 m above sea level, but varies from 250 m to nearly 500 m above sea level. The best agricultural area
182-588: The southern coast of the island is warmer and wetter in winter than the northern coast. Harstad, situated on the northern part of Hinnøya, has all-time high 31.7 °C (89 °F) recorded July 2014, and record low −16.1 °C (3 °F) recorded in February 2010. Tjeldsundet Tjeldsundet ( Norwegian ) or Dielddanuorri ( Northern Sami ) is a strait in Northern Norway . The 50-kilometre (27 nmi; 31 mi) long strait
196-457: The village of Bognes on the mainland, crossing the Vestfjorden . Hinnøya is dissected by several fjords , and two very long ones, Gullesfjorden in the northeast and Øksfjorden in the southwest, almost sever the island in half. There is a five-kilometre-wide (3 mi) isthmus between innermost parts of the two fjords. Tjeldsundet sound divides Hinnøya from the mainland and from Tjeldøya ;
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