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28-569: The road was completed in 1974, coinciding with the 1,100th anniversary of the country's settlement when the longest bridge in Iceland, crossing the Skeiðará river in the southeast, was opened. Previously, vehicles intending to travel between southern settlements, e.g. Vík to Höfn, had to travel north of the country through Akureyri, making the opening a major transport improvement to the country. Many popular tourist attractions in Iceland, such as

56-651: A clockwise direction from Reykjavík. Travelling clockwise (initially northward) from Reykjavík, the following communities and settlements are located on Route 1. During the 2016 summer solstice , the Icelandic band Sigur Rós filmed and broadcast a live Slow TV event tour of Iceland driving along the entire route. The event was broadcast live in 360-degree video with a soundtrack of constantly evolving music based around elements of their track "Óveður". [REDACTED] Wikimedia Atlas of Iceland Settlement of Iceland Too Many Requests If you report this error to

84-499: A few kilometers south of the tunnel in Eyjarfjarðarsveit. The tunnel uses automatic number-plate recognition to collect tolls and is completely unmanned and has no toll collection booths. Users either register on their website and pay, or, after 24 hours the toll is invoiced to the owner through their vehicle registration plate , incurring a collection fee of 550 ISK. The tolls as of April 2024 are: The construction of

112-487: A regular expressway , and can be upgraded to a 4 lane road when traffic necessitates it. Currently, the section between Kjalarnes and the Hvalfjörður tunnel is being upgraded to a [2+1 road] and should be complete by 2023. The 7.4km long Vaðlaheiðargöng tunnel near Akureyri in the north of the country shortened the route by 16km and improved winter safety, bypassing a mountain road. In more rural parts of

140-468: Is paved for all of its length and is mostly two lanes wide: one lane going in each direction. The Icelandic Road Administration, Vegagerðin , oversees the maintenance and operation of the Ring Road. The road is generally of good quality, recent road improvement projects have improved safety considerably. However the road still has hazards, going over many higher-altitude mountain passes in all parts of

168-466: Is 7.4 km (4.6 mi) long and replaces a 21 km section of Route 1 including the Víkurskarð pass, often closed during winter. The tunnel shortens the travel between Akureyri and Husavik by 16 km. As of 2024, it is the only toll road in Iceland. The tunnel's construction was delayed by two water ingress incidents, one being of geothermal hot water . Due to this, temperatures inside

196-480: Is popular with tourists since it covers most of the country and many sights of interest are located near to the route. It has long been a popular route with Icelandic families going on summer vacation, but in recent years the route is becoming more popular with foreign tourists who either rent a car or bring their own on the ferry to Seyðisfjörður . Traffic levels on the road vary considerably between locations: in and near Reykjavík around 20,000-50,000 vehicles use

224-544: The Seljalandsfoss and Skógafoss waterfalls, Dyrhólaey cliffs, Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon, as well as Mývatn lake, Dettifoss and Goðafoss waterfalls in the north are easily accessible from the Ring Road. The road passes through almost all areas of the country (everywhere apart from the Westfjords ), making it a popular itinerary to take for tourists and vacationing locals alike in Iceland. The Ring Road

252-492: The 1970s. In addition, the Skeiðarársandur plain is subject to frequent glacial floods during or after eruptions on the nearby Grímsvötn volcano . Bridges and other stretches of road over the plains have had to be rebuilt as a result, notably during the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010 , when the ring road was severed for several days in the south. These are not considered to a be a risk to everyday travellers as

280-605: The Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.133 via cp1102 cp1102, Varnish XID 533588305 Upstream caches: cp1102 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Thu, 28 Nov 2024 05:33:00 GMT Va%C3%B0lahei%C3%B0arg%C3%B6ng Vaðlaheiðargöng ( Icelandic pronunciation: [ˈvaðlaˌheiːðarˌkœyŋk] ) is a toll tunnel in the north of Iceland along Route 1 , just east of Akureyri . It passes between Eyjafjörður and Fnjóskadalur . It

308-499: The construction of the project in April 2017. The tunnel was planned to open at the end of 2016. However, a large cold water leak was found in early 2015 and large supports needed to be put in place. Adding to the problems, a large volume of hot water was also found and needed to be pumped out of the tunnel. The tunnel was scheduled to open in the fall of 2018. As of April 2017, the tunnel had been drilled, but finishing up and building

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336-483: The country, mostly in the glacial plains of the south and the Eastfjords , 31 single-lane bridges exist on the Ring Road. Dating back to the original construction of the road in the 1970s, they are sometimes constructed of wood or steel. Vehicles who approach the bridge first have the right of way. These are often narrow and long, making passing difficult, especially when there is high traffic. Non-locals, unaware of

364-841: The country, which can have steep gradients and sharp curves, as well as blind curves and summits and single-lane bridges, especially in the more rural east of the country. Driving in winter one must take special precautions and pre-check driving conditions with the Icelandic Road Administration to ensure the road is passable. The speed limit is 90 kilometres per hour (56 mph) on open sections; 70 kilometres per hour (43 mph) in tunnels and 50 kilometres per hour (31 mph) through urban areas. A few speed cameras operate on roads just outside of Reykjavík and in all tunnels. In recent years, due to increased traffic and demands for higher road safety, many large improvements have been made in both capacity and safety of

392-619: The country. Heavy summer traffic is especially a problem during the summer at the town of Selfoss , where a single two lane bridge, Ölfusárbrú, is routed through the town carries practically all of the traffic in the south of the country, a significant bottleneck. This is planned to be replaced by a new bypass road and new 4-lane bridge over the Ölfus river, with current plans seeing it complete by 2025. The ring road has complete coverage of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations , with around 30 DC fast charging sites spaced approximately 50-80km apart. They are located in almost all towns along

420-402: The ring road. In the southwestern corner of the country, near Reykjavík , between the larger towns of Mosfellsbær and Selfoss , the road is usually divided by a barrier and has three or four lanes of traffic, mostly being a 2+1 lane partly- controlled access highway , similar to a 2-lane expressway . At current traffic levels, 2+1 lane roads provide similar safety and traffic requirements to

448-414: The road daily, rural sections serving routes between Reykjavik and Akureyri in the west and Reykjavík and Vík in the south see traffic volumes of around 2,000 to 5,000 vehicles per day. The stretches farthest away from larger towns, mostly in the sparsely inhabited east of the country see an average around 500 vehicles per day. Traffic on the ring road is also subject to considerable variation between

476-415: The road remained. The tunnel opened on 21 December 2018. The two water ingresses encountered during the construction of the tunnel were contained and conduits were placed in the tunnel to its western entrance (Akureyri side). The hot water found in 2014 had a volumetric flow of 350L/s of 50 °C and around 500L/s of cold water was found separately in 2015. Initially the hot water was discharged into

504-404: The road, or for maintenance teams to clear the road of snow after major snowfalls. A few major mountain passes prone to closure in heavily trafficked parts of the ring road: Winter closures used to be more common in the past. In recent years, new tunnels such as the 7.4km long Vaðlaheiðargöng near Akureyri in the north, have reduced the need to close the road due to snow. Prior to rerouting,

532-413: The roads are closed well in advance of a warning of a volcanic eruption. Since its completion, the ring road has seen constant growth in traffic, and has seen an even quicker growth during the recent rise in number of tourists arriving in Iceland. Average traffic recorded along the ring road rose from a consolidated count of 57,000 vehicles per day in 2005 to over 90,000 vehicles per day in 2019. Route 1

560-541: The route between Breiðdalsvík and Egilsstaðir (over the Breiðdalsheiði plateau) in the east was often closed in winter. Route 1 was rerouted in November 2017, now using the somewhat sinuous coastal route via Reyðarfjörður , using (now former) Routes 96 and 92 to travel between the towns. Route 1 crosses a few glacial plains, such as Skeiðarársandur , which made the original road construction difficult in

588-809: The route, as well as rest stops and other locations. Each site has anywhere from 2-16 charging posts and they are operated by various companies including N1 , Orka Nattúrinnar and Tesla . Charging power at each site ranges from 50-250kW and are CCS Type 2 standard, with most also supporting the older CHAdeMO standard. The longest stretch between chargers is a 113km section in the northeast, from Mývatn to Skjöldólfsstadir - where there are no amenities (including gasoline). The ring road first became covered by EV charging stations in 2018, initially by Orka Nátturinnar . Additionally, there are many slower AC charging stations at hotels, tourist attractions and towns. The route goes by many names depending on its location. The following table shows road names (excluding tunnels) in

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616-407: The rules of single-lane bridges, have ended in head-on and serious collisions using these bridges. Considered a major safety issue, the Icelandic Road Administration aims to rebuild/upgrade all bridges on the ring road to modern two lane standards. Single-lane bridges were reduced from around 60 in 2010 to 32 in 2020. Within the next five years, an additional 14 bridges are to be rebuilt, mostly along

644-451: The sea just west of the tunnel, creating a small tourist attraction of its own, with locals bathing in the hot waterfall by the shore. The local utility , Norðurorka, plans to use the cold water for the local area, including Akureyri in future. In 2017, a local competition was launched to find the best use of the hot water. After the utility connections had been constructed, in 2022 a geothermal spa called 'Forest Lagoon' opened, located

672-400: The southern coast. Route 1 has the highest priority for snow removal from the Icelandic Road Administration and is serviced seven days a week during the winter, with teams keeping the road open as weather allows. Conditions are monitored 24/7 and relayed to the public through their website and telephone helpline. During extreme weather it may take hours until the weather calms down to open

700-416: The tunnel and the Icelandic government's role was somewhat controversial. Opponents of the project said the project would not be profitable within a reasonable span of time (if at all), the construction costs would exceed original estimates and the motivation behind the construction would be to benefit the voting demographic in the marginal constituency in which it was located. Initially, the collection fee

728-463: The tunnel rise up to 22-26 °C in the warmest sections, and one of the tunnel's emergency laybys has even been used for hot yoga . The hot water found is used in a local geothermal spa a few kilometres south of the tunnel. The estimated cost of the tunnel was ISK 11.5 billion (2013 prices, about US$ 96 million) but by April 2017, it was reported that the costs had surpassed the estimates by 44%. The Icelandic government loaned 4.7 billion ISK to

756-409: The winter and summer, with the traffic in summer often being double or more than during the winter. This is due to a lower flow of tourist and agricultural traffic, as well as the roads being less passable or even closed during the winter. Traffic can become considerably heavy on weekends during the summer, when locals flock to travel around the country for holidays, camping and summer house visits across

784-400: Was 1,000 ISK if the toll was not paid within three hours. This was controversial as tourists and non-regular users were unaware of the system, and was later reduced to 400 ISK and grace period increased to 24 hours. As of April 2024, the collection fee is 550 ISK. In July 2019, it was reported that the toll tunnel had earned 35-40% less than estimated. This was because fewer cars went through

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