Mælefjell Tunnel in Telemark
JES t/ECS-A gas sensors for CO and NO2 in the tunnel
The 9,355 m long Mælefjell Tunnel is a road tunnel on the E134 route in between Aarhus Moen in Seljord Municipality and Gvammen in Hjartdal municipality in the Norwegian Telemark region. The tunnel was opened to traffic on 19 December 2019, and at the same time the old road via Flatdal, Åsebrekkene and Ambjørndalen was converted into county road.
History
The E134 is the shortest road from Drammen to Haugesund, and one of the main road connections between Austlandet and Vestlandet. Through Telemark, the road has poor standards in several places, with narrow roads, steep curves and large inclines. Especially between Gvammen (Hjartdal municipality) and Århus (Seljord municipality), there were stretches that present significant challenges for accessibility in winter, such as Ambjørndalen and Nutheimkleivene. Through Hjartdal and Flatdal there are also a good number of houses along the road and many exits.
The rerouting of the road through the tunnel from Gvammen to Århus shortened the E134 by approx. 11 km. In addition, the new road is almost flat, and this together reduced the driving time for heavy vehicles by about 18 minutes.
The 9,355 m long Mælefjell Tunnel is now the longest road tunnel in Telemark and the seventh longest in the country. A total of 11.7 km of new road was built, replacing 22.6 km of the previous route.
The project was carried out in between 2013 and 2019. In April 2013, the first part of the work started by blasting out a rock cut along the then E134 to use the masses for preloading for bridge foundations, and other preparation and construction of supply roads to facilities and landfills. The main construction was started in November 2014, while the first salvo in the tunnel itself took place on 17 December 2014 on the Gvammen side and two months later on the Aarhus side. By New Year 2016, the tunnel had been blown out a total of 4204 meters; 2715 meters from Gvammen and 1489 meters from Århus, and breakthrough was expected during the year. However, water leaks led to delays in progress. Finally breakthrough was on 3 May 2017.
In September 2017 the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Aventi Installation signed the contract for the electrical works with a value of over 93 million NOK. After completion of the works the tunnel was opened for traffic on 19 December 2019.
Blue light
In the Mælefjell tunnel, a couple of thousand LED luminaires have been installed. Still, over the long distance it is a bit monotonous not seeing other landscapes than the tunnel walls. To break the monotony blue lights have been installed.
Sensors from JES
Aventi has chosen our distributor HOUM AS to equip the Mælefjell Tunnel with sensors from JES. Luminance meters t/LUM and gas sensors t/ECS-A for CO and NO2 have been installed and have strengthened the position of JES in Norway.
