Editing Triangle Link (section)

===Construction===
Construction started on 15 February 1997. Before the first blast could be taken by County Mayor [[Magnar Lussand]], representatives for Vestlandet Natue and Youth, and The People's Movement Against the Triangle Link had to be moved. The only police officer at the festivities was Sheriff Reidar Færestrand, who was not dressed in his police uniform and had not brought with him his badge. The demonstrators did not move until a police boat had been sent with the necessary documentation and Færestrand could prove his identity as a law enforcer. [[Elin Lerum Boasson]] of Nature and Youth stated that it was "a day of sorrow".<ref>Hauge: 66</ref>

[[File:StordBridge.jpg|thumb|left|[[Stord Bridge]] with Stord to the left]]
[[Core sample]]s showed that the tunnel would have to be built {{convert|30|m|sp=us}} deeper than originally planned to avoid [[deposit (geology)|deposits]].<ref>Hauge: 67</ref> The tunneling was undertaken by NCC Eeg-Henriksen from the Føyno side and by the Norwegian Public Roads Administration from the Sveio side.<ref name=h108>Hauge: 108</ref> Construction from Sveio started on 16 September 1997 and from Føyno on 6 March 1998.<ref name=h156>Hauge: 156</ref> The tunnel was built at an average speed of {{convert|55|m|sp=us}} per week, with the record being {{convert|96.7|m|sp=us}}. The lowest point was reached on 5 May 1999 and the breakthrough took place on 2 September, five months before schedule.<ref name=h108 /> Sixty people participated in a course to master fear of tunnels organized by the toll company.<ref name=h90>Hauge: 90</ref> When it opened, the tunnel was the longest and second-deepest subsea tunnel in Europe and Norway, after the [[Hitra Tunnel]].<ref name=h108 />

The Stord and Bømla Bridges were both constructed using the same method and by the same contractors, Arbeidsfellesskapet Triangle Contractor, a [[joint venture]] between NCC Eeg-Henriksen and HBG Steel Structures.<ref name=h77>Hauge: 77</ref> Construction started on the Stord Bridge on 20 February 1999. After the pylons were completed,<ref name=h105>Hauge: 105</ref> two [[catwalk (bridge)|catwalks]] were erected between them, with the constructors choosing a continual catwalk instead of three separate ones.<ref name=h77 /> The cables were spun on-site using a [[reel]]; this also allowed for cost savings, as the reels could be used two times. The cables were spun using the air spinning with controlled tension, which allowed spinning with little space use and with a crew with limited experience with spinning.<ref>Hauge: 80</ref> The two bridges were the first time that on-site spinning was used in Norway.<ref name="h104"/> The fastening poles were delivered five weeks after schedule; a new mounting method was developed which allowed them to be installed in a quarter of the time, in part by using a helicopter, and the whole five-week delay was eradicated. This allowed the deck sections to be installed as scheduled.<ref>Hauge: 82</ref> The decks were produced in [[Schiedam]], Netherlands, for the Stord Bridge and in Italy for the Bømlo Bridge. These were sent by barge to Sunnhordland.<ref>Hauge: 86</ref> The section length was different between the two bridges, the Stord Bridge having them in lengths of {{convert|36|m|sp=us}} and the Bømla Bridge in sections of {{convert|24|m|sp=us}}. This was to accommodate the latter's smaller vertical curvature.<ref>Hauge: 83</ref>

The entire project cost NOK&nbsp;1,814 million. The costs were distributed to NOK&nbsp;476 million for the Bømlafjord Tunnel, NOK&nbsp;433 million for the Stord Bridge, NOK&nbsp;336 million for the Bømla Bridge, NOK&nbsp;46 million for the Spissøy Bridge, NOK&nbsp;36 million for the Digernes Tunnel, NOK&nbsp;325 million for roadways and NOK&nbsp;172 for administration and common costs.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.trekantsambandet.no/Ombompengeselskapet.aspx |title=Om bompengeselskapet |publisher=Sunnhordland Bru- og Tunnelselskap |language=Norwegian |access-date=14 July 2012 |archive-date=10 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120610052208/http://www.trekantsambandet.no/Ombompengeselskapet.aspx |url-status=dead }}</ref> The investment cost was split between state grants and NOK&nbsp;1,036 million in debt taken up by the toll company.<ref name=annualreport>{{cite web |url=http://www.sbt.no/SBT-2010_nett.pdf |title=Årsmelding 2010 |publisher=Sunnhordland Bru- og Tunnelselskap |year=2011 |language=Norwegian |access-date=14 July 2012 |archive-date=14 July 2012 |archive-url=https://www.webcitation.org/699ecqNgS?url=http://www.sbt.no/SBT-2010_nett.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> When the project was passed by Parliament it had a budget of NOK&nbsp;1,260 million. The [[Office of the Auditor General of Norway]] criticized the Western Norway Public Roads Administration in 2001 for a total [[cost overrun]] of NOK&nbsp;900 million in three projects, the Triangle Link, the [[Lærdal Tunnel]] and parts of [[Norwegian National Road 555|National Road 555]]. The majority of the cost overruns were tied to the Triangle Link.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bt.no/nyheter/lokalt/Bommet-med-900-millioner-2375308.html |title=Bommet med 900 millioner |last=Stedje |first=Jan |date=4 September 2001 |work=[[Bergens Tidende]] |language=Norwegian |access-date=14 July 2012 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304095645/http://www.bt.no/nyheter/lokalt/Bommet-med-900-millioner-2375308.html |url-status=live }}</ref> As a consequence, Minister of Transport [[Torild Skogsholm]] stated that future large road investments would have an external quality assurance before being presented to Parliament.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.bt.no/nyheter/lokalt/Innrommer-manglende-veistyring-2413311.html |title=Innrømmer manglende veistyring |last=Stedje |first=Jan |date=28 February 2003 |work=[[Bergens Tidende]] |language=Norwegian |access-date=14 July 2012 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304205210/http://www.bt.no/nyheter/lokalt/Innrommer-manglende-veistyring-2413311.html |url-status=live }}</ref>