Raftsund bru

LOFAST is a stretch of highway that extends 51 km altogether, with many tunnels and bridges, between Gullesfjordbotn in Kvæfjord and Raftsundet in the municipality of Hadsel. It was built to provide Lofoten with a ferry-free road connection. Raftsund Bridge, which forms part of LOFAST, was opened in November 1998. The building work was designed by Boarch Arkitekter a/s in Bodø after they won an architectural competition set up by the Public Roads Administration. It is a gradually-sloping, elegant concrete bridge that spans the rugged landscape of Hinnøya and Austvågøy in Lofoten

the thin, elegant pillars that the bridge rests on are not very prominent in the visual picture.

This is a concrete span bridge, built according to the "cantilever" method. This building method involves building out from a fixed extremity (pillar) at each side simultaneously, until the two sections meet in the middle. When the extremities meet, the bridge is connected together, and the load is shared out between both the main supports. Very often, a moulding wagon is used for the work, containing formwork for a particular section. Once it has been moulded, the wagon is pushed forward. In English, this method of building is called cantilever style, i.e. projecting out. All the foundations / pier abutments that are positioned on the mountain are sunk into the terrain in order to minimize the encroachment into the terrain.