The Raftsundet Bridge with a main span of 298 m was the longest concrete cantilevered span in the world when the cantilevers were joined at June 24th 1998. The bridge was opened for traffic at November the 6th the same year. Crossing a major shipping route between two Lofoten islands in Northern Norway, the structure is exposed to a severe wind climate with a design gust wind speed of almost 60 m/s. The alpine topography with high mountains creates fluctuating wind forces, which severely affects the slender columns and the bridge beam. Due to the local topography, the chosen span lengths are by traditional measures rather unbalanced, and this requirement is satisfied by using high strength, light weight concrete in most of the main span. This article describes the design and construction of the bridge and focuses on environmental loads, design strategy, material and durability.

The Skarnsundet Bridge is a cable stayed bridge located close to the Arctic Circle on the coast of Norway in an area characterised by severe marine environment, strong winds, salt spray and large temperature variations. The 1010 m long bridge was opened to traffic in December 1991. The three cable-stayed spans are supported by a total of 208 cables. The bridge cross-section is a concrete box girder of triangular shape, 13 m wide and 2.15 m high. The two towers are A-shaped concrete frames of height 152 m above sea level. The central span of 530 m combined with the fact that the bridge has only two traffic lanes makes it unique for its record breaking span and great slenderness.