From his office window, marketing manager Jørn Reite in VikØrsta’s Rock support division, can see straight across the fjord towards the impressive Eiksund connection, a project he and the company have been involved in for several years. VikØrsta has supplied lighting columns, rock bolts, fastening systems for water and frost protection and road and bridge railings.

Head above water. Jørn Reite is happy to confirm that supplies from VikØrsta contribute towards making the Eiksund tunnel a safe and modern tunnel. The blue line of light indicates the sea level.

“Obviously, it was important to us to be involved in this project. Imagine having to watch our competitors supplying such a prestigious local project right on our doorstep. Unthinkable,” smiles Jørn.

During the course of the past three and a half years the company in Ørsta has produced and supplied more than 30,000 fastening bolts, 6,000 CT bolts and approx. 60,000 smaller bolts to the Eiksund connection. All of the bolts used in the record-deep sub-sea Eiksund tunnel have been treated with CombiCoat.

Bolts ready for securing the world’s deepest sub-sea tunnel.

A bolt treated with CombiCoat has three times the lifespan of a hot-dip galvanized bolt. The combination of securing bolts and gunite keeps the rock in place,” explains Jørn. The smaller bolts and fastening system keep the water and frost protection vault in place. The Eiksund tunnel has a vault of the Giertsen fabric type.

Work with the connection has been followed closely by the employees, and the company has arranged several trips to the tunnel for the employees so that it has been possible to follow the development of the project and the progress of installing equipment supplied by Ørsta. In addition, a lot of customers have been given a tour of the impressive project. When “open tunnel” was arranged on 17 February there were several thousand people in the tunnel, and VikØrsta was present with a stand.

Jørn Reite demonstrated the fastening system for water and frost protection, which was developed and manufactured in Ørsta.

“This is an excellent reference project for us, as the 287 metre deep sub-sea tunnel is well known in our international markets,” says the marketing manager. Being present with large supplies to this project confirms our position as an important and dependable player in the market.