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Comment by afandian | Hacker News Reader

That environment doesn't sound well managed or conducive to low-defect work to be honest.

It is also questionable as why this was preferred over just a tunnel or bridge between Strendur and Runavik along with linking the main road network to the other outlying islands like Svinoy, Fugloy, Kalsoy, Nolsoy, Mykines, Hester, etc. in addition to the bypassing of of the Stora and Litla Dimun islands by the proposed Suðuroy tunnel. Locals are not going to be happy about having to make a detour to an underwater roundabout tourist attraction when emergency services are needed; might as well name this the Tappan Zee of the Faroe.

It's a matter of economics. Passage will be tolled [1] and this particular tunnel is projected to make economic sense based on expected traffic.

Also, there's not much interest in a bridge/tunnel connecting Strendur and Runavík. That's not what the roundabout is for. Before the roundabout was proposed, there were debates whether the tunnel should surface in Strendur or Runavík. The roundabout is to connect both Strendur and Runavík to Tórshavn without either villagers having to circle around the fjord.

The other islands you mention are sparsely populated and have a hard time justifying the cost of subsea tunnels. Populations [2]:

  • Svínoy: 31
  • Fugloy: 38
  • Kalsoy: 75
  • Nólsoy: 224
  • Mykines: 16
  • Hestur: 18
  • Stóra Dímun: 10
  • Lítla Dímun: 0

[1] https://www.tunnil.fo/um-tunnil/eysturoyartunnilin/prisir/

[2] https://statbank.hagstova.fo/pxweb/en/H2/H2__IB__IB01/fo_vit...

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