Siglufjörður, north east Iceland
Siglufjörður is a small fishing town in a narrow fjord with the same name on the north east coast of Iceland.
Siglufjörður was connected with a road for the first time in 1940 when the horse riding trail through Siglufjarðarskarð was improved and enabled cars to get through. Before that, ships, seaplanes, horses and strong legs provided the transport.
Siglufjörður remains dependent on fishing industries although the boom herring fishery of the 1940s and 1950s has gone. The Icelandic government is attempting to reverse the population shrinking in the area by improving land transportation.
Two road tunnels were dug between Siglufjörður to the neighbouring town of Ólafsfjörður to connect with the region of Eyjafjörður in the east and they were completed in October 2010.
These tunnels are called the Héðinsfjarðargöng and their total length is 6.6 miles, 4.3 miles for the southern tunnel and 2.3 miles for the northern tunnel. Between the two tunnels in Hédinsfjördur there is a lay by where travellers can park their cars and enjoy the view.
Prior to the opening of the Héðinsfjarðargöng tunnels, Siglufjörður was already connected by the 0.5 mile Strákar Tunnel to the west. This used to be the town's only road connection open whole year around. This tunnel was completed in 1967 and before that the only road to the town was a narrow mountain pass over the Tröllaskagi peninsula which is open only during the summer months.
Date: 4th June 2015
Location: view from road 76 looking towards Siglufjörður
Siglufjörður was connected with a road for the first time in 1940 when the horse riding trail through Siglufjarðarskarð was improved and enabled cars to get through. Before that, ships, seaplanes, horses and strong legs provided the transport.
Siglufjörður remains dependent on fishing industries although the boom herring fishery of the 1940s and 1950s has gone. The Icelandic government is attempting to reverse the population shrinking in the area by improving land transportation.
Two road tunnels were dug between Siglufjörður to the neighbouring town of Ólafsfjörður to connect with the region of Eyjafjörður in the east and they were completed in October 2010.
These tunnels are called the Héðinsfjarðargöng and their total length is 6.6 miles, 4.3 miles for the southern tunnel and 2.3 miles for the northern tunnel. Between the two tunnels in Hédinsfjördur there is a lay by where travellers can park their cars and enjoy the view.
Prior to the opening of the Héðinsfjarðargöng tunnels, Siglufjörður was already connected by the 0.5 mile Strákar Tunnel to the west. This used to be the town's only road connection open whole year around. This tunnel was completed in 1967 and before that the only road to the town was a narrow mountain pass over the Tröllaskagi peninsula which is open only during the summer months.
Date: 4th June 2015
Location: view from road 76 looking towards Siglufjörður
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Also in: North east Iceland
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