Varodd Bridge

The Varodd Bridges are two parallel cantilever bridges in Kristiansand municipality, in Agder county, Norway, and they cross the Topdalsfjorden. They are named after the peninsula on the western shore. It goes from Vige and ends in Søm in Kristiansand. The bridges carry the European route E18 highway over the fjord.[3]

Old Varodd Bridge

Gamle Varoddbrua
The new westbound Varodd Bridge with the Old Varodd Bridge still in place in 2015.
Coordinates58°10′N 8°04′E
Characteristics
DesignFormer suspension bridge[1]
Total length618 metres (2,028 ft)[2]
Height70 metres (230 ft)[2]
Longest span337 metres (1,106 ft)[1]
No. of spans8
Clearance below30 metres (98 ft)[2]
History
Opened1956[1]
Replaced byThe eastbound cantilever bridge (2020)
Location

Old Bridge

The Old Varodd Bridge was a former suspension bridge, which opened in 1956. It was a 618 metres (2,028 ft) long suspension bridge, with a main span of 337 metres (1,106 ft). The two towers reached 70 metres (230 ft) above sea level.[1][2] Before the completion of the second bridge, this was the only bridge crossing Topdalsfjorden, making it a two-lane bridge carrying traffic in both directions.[3] The replacement bridge was built in between the two current bridges and construction began in early 2017. The suspension bridge was demolished and removed in the fall of 2020.[4]

New bridges
New Varodd Bridge

Nye Varoddbrua
Coordinates58°10′N 8°04′E
Characteristics
DesignCantilever bridge[5]
Total length660 metres (2,170 ft)[5]
Longest span260 metres (850 ft)[5]
No. of spans4
Clearance below32 metres (105 ft)
History
Opened1993[5]
Location

The New Varodd Bridge is parallel to the older bridge, and was completed in 1993 at a cost of US$13 million.[6] It is a cantilever bridge with four spans. The main span is 260 metres (850 ft) and a total length of 663 metres (2,175 ft).[5] The bridge has a 32-metre (105 ft) clearance below it. The bridge was built solely to relieve the traffic on the older bridge, and the two lanes only handled westbound traffic.[3]

Another new cantilever bridge for eastbound traffic is under construction between the old and new Varodd Bridge. It was completed in 2020.[7]

  • The two parallel cantilever bridges in 2020. The former suspension bridge has been removed.
    The two parallel cantilever bridges in 2020. The former suspension bridge has been removed.
  • The old suspension bridge on left, the 1993 bridge on right.
    The old suspension bridge on left, the 1993 bridge on right.
  • The old Varodd Bridge in 1962.
    The old Varodd Bridge in 1962.

References
  1. Old Varodd Bridge at Structurae
  2. "Old Varodd Bridge". Bridge-Info.org. Retrieved 9 July 2013.
  3. Merzagora, Eugenio A. (ed.). "Road Viaducts & Bridges in Norway (> 500 m)". Norske bruer og viadukter. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  4. "Varoddbrua-Om Prosjektet" (in Norwegian). Statens vegvesen. Retrieved 2017-02-01.
  5. New Varodd Bridge at Structurae
  6. "Construction Facts - The Sourcebook of Statistics, Records and Resources" (PDF), Engineering News Record, McGraw Hill, vol. 251, Number 20a, November 2003, retrieved 9 August 2014
  7. Ny Varoddbru skal stå klar i 2020 NRK(in Norwegian)
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