If you’re planning a road trip around Iceland, you might have heard a few things about single-lane tunnels and bridges.
Don’t worry - they’re perfectly safe and easy to use, so long as you’re prepared!
Here’s what it looks like when you take a trip through one of the single-lane tunnels on the Tröllaskagi peninsula in North Iceland.
Heading away from Akureyri, Route 82 winds its way north past Dalvík towards Ólafsfjörður via a single-lane 3.4-kilometre tunnel called Múlagöng.
The rule here is simple.
If you're travelling north, you must pull in and give priority to southbound traffic.
If you’re travelling south, you have the right of way.
As you can see, there are frequent recesses for you to use, marked with an illuminated M.
Time codes:
1 minute 55 seconds: pulling over to stop in a recess to allow southbound traffic to pass. I used my indicator to help any following vehicles prepare to do the same.
2 minutes and 35 seconds: aborting a similar stop as there was more time to reach the next recess.
2 minutes and 45 seconds: pulling in at the next available recess.
4 minutes and 45 seconds: obeying a stop sign towards the end of the tunnel, which controls access around a curve (no line of sight).
There are two further road tunnels from Ólafsfjörður to Siglufjörður, jointly called Héðinsfjarðargöng.
Both are two-lane tracks, so there's no need to pull over. These tunnels run for 7.1 kilometres and 3.9 kilometres, and there are recesses too.
Strákagöng lies at the northern tip of the peninsula, north of Siglufjörður.
It's quite short (800 m, 2,625 ft), but it is another single-lane tunnel, and it curves slightly too.
So be prepared to give way to southbound traffic and reduce your speed as you approach its northern end.
It was Iceland's second road tunnel, opened in 1967, and it offered Siglo's townspeople all-year-round connections. Previously, winter trips had to be completed by boat!
If in doubt, pull over safely in the recesses and let southbound traffic pass before you proceed.
Thanks to my steady-handed camera person Roma Goodge Tastic!
19 сен 2024
