E4 The Stockholm Bypass

E4 The Stockholm Bypass is a 21km-long new road that connects the southern and northern parts of the Stockholm County. It is one of the biggest road infrastructure and tunnel projects under development in Sweden.

Being developed by the Swedish Transport Administration (STA), the bypass project will mainly form an outer ring road with Norrortsleden and Tvärförbindelse Södertörn.

Construction of the Skr28bn ($3.08bn) project was commenced in 2015 and is expected to be completed in 2026.

The new bypass is estimated to serve approximately 140,000 vehicles a day by 2035.

E4 The Stockholm Bypass details

The new bypass will be 21km-long, of which approximately 18km will be laid in tunnels. It will mainly relieve the arterial roads and the inner city traffic and strengthen the Stockholm traffic system.

Two major interchanges will be built and integrated with the existing E4 at Kungens Kurva and in Häggvik. The new bypass will also be connected with the current road network on the island of Lovön, at Bergslagsplan in Vinsta, and the E18 in Hjulsta.

It will feature six interchanges along the route, including at Kungens kurva, Lovö, Vinsta, Hjulsta, Akalla, and Häggvik.

The project will also involve the construction of additional 14km-long entry and exit ramps and 4km of access tunnels. It will have a maximum speed limit between 80km/h and 100km/h.

Tunnel and route details of E4 The Stockholm Bypass

The Stockholm bypass will feature one of the longest road tunnels in the world. It will include a 16.5km-long tunnel, as well as a 1.8km-long tunnel under Järvafältet.

The bypass will feature three lanes in each direction in two separate tunnel tubes. The tunnel will be built 100m below the ground level and 60m below the surface of Lake Mälaren.

The tunnel system will be monitored and controlled by the traffic control centre, called Trafik Stockholm.

The tunnel sections will be installed with CCTV cameras for 24/7 surveillance, frequent emergency exits, fixed firefighting system, and detectors. The parallel tunnels will witness no oncoming traffic.

The bypass will pass through Lovö via a tunnel section with interchanges, two roundabouts, and ramps to Ekerö-vägen at Edeby and Tillflykten. It will pass through a tunnel section to be built between Lambarfjärden and Vinsta.

A new interchange to be built at Vinsta will have two roundabouts on Bergslagsvägen. The road will then enter a tunnel section to Hjulsta before passing through a bridge over the Mälarbanan rail line, the creeks Bällstaån/Spångaån, and the E18 Enköpingsvägen.

The bypass will then pass through a tunnel below Järvafältet, before reaching Finlandsgatan and Akallalänken junction.

Contractors involved

The AECOM and ÅF joint venture was awarded the contract to design the E4 Stockholm bypass. Bentley BIM solutions were employed for 3D modelling, collaboration, and integration.

STA and Bravida signed a Skr1.6bn ($175.4m) contract for electricity, lighting, and HVAC works in August 2018. STA also placed a Skr1.15bn ($128.7m) contract to Bravida for installing water and wastewater systems and fixed fire extinguishing in January 2019.

Skanska received a Skr1.3bn ($152.8m) contract from STA for building the southern connection of Stockholm Bypass tunnel in July 2015. STA placed a Skr500m ($57.7m) contract with Skanska for constructing the Vinsta interchange of the E4 Stockholm bypass in June 2018.

STA awarded a Skr3.7bn ($436.9m) contract to JV Vianini CMC for the construction of access tunnels, two temporary jetties, ramp tunnels, and main tunnels under Lovön in Ekerö municipality, in August 2016.

LSAB JV received a contract from STA for constructing two main tunnels, two temporary ports, ramp tunnels, and two working tunnels representing the major portion of the project.

Implenia Construction is responsible for building 1.6km of parallel main tunnels in Lunda. NCC Construction received a Skr608m ($73.3m) contract to build the Hjulsta Norra interchange in June 2016.

Nitro Consult is responsible for conducting surveys and inspections for blasting operations in the southern section of the project.

ÅF won a Skr63m ($7.6m) contract to deliver project and construction management services for the rock tunnels in the northern sections of the E4 Stockholm Bypass.

Züblin Scandinavia, along with STRABAG Sverige, will build a 950m-long section of the Stockholm bypass under a €76m ($84.7m) contract.

Assemblin received a Skr520m ($57.2m) comprehensive ventilation contract for the bypass project. The contractual scope includes design, installation, operation, and maintenance of ventilation in tunnels.