WHERE ELK CAN SAFELY ROAM

A PICTURESQUE ROUTE HAS BECOME SAFER. IN NORWAY, BILFINGER BERGER PROJECT INVESTMENTS IS OPERATING A SECTION OF THE E18.

European Route 18 runs from Norway via Sweden and Finland as far as Russia. One particularly scenic section lies between Kristiansand and Grimstad at the southern tip of Norway. The highway crosses deep fjords, pass es over hills and meanders through valleys on its way to Oslo.

For many years this section of the E 18 was regarded as particu - larly dangerous. The road was narrow and winding, with just one lane in each direction. When tourists poured into the countryside in July and the traffic volume swelled to 16,000 vehicles per day, driving became hazardous. Then Bilfinger Berger straightened the road and widened it to four lanes.

More than six kilometers of the 40-kilometer section now run though tunnels and 60 bridges span the landscape— not least in order to minimize the impact on the habitat of elk and deer. The road is one of the first in Norway to be built as a public private partnership. Bilfinger Berger Project Investments will operate the section until 2034.

Bilfinger Berger Magazine 2/2011