There was a large and severe fire in the Oslofjord Tunnel last year. A new report by the Norwegian Civil Aviation Commission has appeared, which indicates many shortcomings in the construction of the above-mentioned tunnel. Unfortunately, they threaten the safety of people who use the tunnel every day. 

Oslofjord tunnel and accident from a year ago

More than a year ago, there was an accident in the tunnel on May 5 Oslofjord, it was a truck fire. Fortunately, apart from the destruction of the car, nothing happened to anyone. The accident damages spread over a distance of 500 meters, of which 300 meters were completely burnt. Unfortunately, the fire led to an increase in the temperature inside the tunnel, which led to the burning of the tunnel roof, pipes, installations and road surface. The truck was carrying paper. The driver tried with all his might to fight the fire to put it out, but unfortunately to no avail.

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Weaknesses in the construction of the tunnel

As a result of last year's accident, the Norwegian Accident Investigation Council compiled a list of several violations that were included in a detailed report. The points contained in it speak, among others, about:

• out of date tunnel emergency plan Oslofjord,
• lack of planned and implemented safety exercises resulting from the tunnel regulations,
• reservations about the work of the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, which did not comply with the internal guidelines for maintaining the safe operation of the tunnel.

William J. Bertheussen, director of the accident commission, says "This report identifies several serious safety deficiencies that should be corrected as soon as possible."

Security above all else

Oslofjord is a tunnel 7 kilometers long and 134 meters deep below sea level, which is the longest road tunnel in Akershus and Buskerud. It is also considered the longest underwater tunnel of this type in Northern Europe. “The security of the tunnel must be maintained at the highest level at all times. We spent a lot of time on this report and thoroughly investigated the accident. Now we have to look at the full operation of the tunnel, ”says Bertheussen for NRK.

This accident was not the first

The report also recalls the 2011 fire that occurred in the tunnel. From year to year, the number of vehicles that use the tunnel is increasing. Two situations from the past show that special attention should be paid to the problem of fire in the tunnel section Oslofjordbut not only. Priority as indicated Bertheussen is to clean up the deficiencies indicated in the report. This task belongs to Norwegian Road Administration Public.