Sotra highway project faces soaring costs and uncertain completion date

The Sotra motorway, a nine-kilometre four-lane road with multiple tunnels and a long bridge connecting Storavatnet and Kolltveit near Bergen, was planned to open on 1 June 2027. However, the project's total cost has escalated dramatically, forcing the Norwegian parliament to raise its funding envelope in the 2022 budget and now prompting calls for an additional increase. According to David Lund, an analyst at the Prognosesenteret, the surge is driven primarily by steep hikes in material costs such as concrete, steel, gravel and asphalt, which have risen nearly twice as fast as overall road-project price indices in the last five years.

The exact new budget figure has not been disclosed, and the revised completion schedule is uncertain. Stakeholders are watching closely as the cost overruns could impact other infrastructure spending.