Norway opens world's longest road tunnel

OSLO, Norway (Reuters) -- Norway's King Harald opened the world's longest road tunnel Monday just hours after a tiny fire forced about 50 people to evacuate a bus in the heart of the 15.3-mile (24.6-kilometer) tunnel.

Cutting under a snow-capped mountain range, the Laerdal tunnel is a key stretch on a faster road linking Oslo and the western port of Bergen, avoiding high mountain passes and ferry routes across fjords.

It beats the 10.6-mile (17-kilometer) St. Gotthard tunnel in Switzerland to become the planet's longest road tunnel. The toll-free Laerdal tunnel cost about $113.1 million to build.

"Throughout history, the landscape in these areas has posed big challenges to anyone building roads," King Harald said in a speech before driving through the tunnel from Laerdal, a village of 2,000 people by a fjord and ringed by precipitous mountains.

He praised engineers and said the tunnel would help improve links between east and west Norway.

A few hours before the formal opening, however, a fan caught fire in a bus carrying about 50 people though the tunnel to the ceremony in Laerdal, Norway's NTB news agency said.

The bus filled with smoke, forcing passengers to evacuate while 8 miles inside the mountain. No one was hurt. Passengers reboarded and drove on a few minutes later when smoke dispersed.

Tunnel engineers say they have installed high-tech equipment to help curb dangers of fire and smoke. Most of the tunnel wall is non-flammable. The tunnel has 48 sites for vehicles to pull off the road in an emergency, 15 locations to turn a vehicle around and fire extinguishers every 125 yards (114 meters).

Thirty-nine people died last year in the 7.4-mile (12-kilometer) Mont Blanc tunnel linking France and Italy after a truck caught fire. And last month, 155 people were killed when a train carrying skiers up a tunnel in the Austrian resort of Kaprun caught fire.

The Laerdal tunnel includes three big blue-lit caverns at 3.75-mile (6-kilometer) intervals, with yellow lights at the fringes to give an impression of sunrise. The caverns are also turning points and help lift claustrophobia during a 20-minute drive.

Many locals welcome the 10-yard-wide (9-meter) tunnel -- saying rock slides and snow often make it dangerous to drive on winding mountain roads outside. A local couple got married in the tunnel last week.

Copyright 2000 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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