June 2022
Iceland roads are excellent until they are not. They are nicely paved, and the traffic is almost non-existent, but then you get to the western fjords.
One of the nicer gravel roads in the West fjords.
There a gravel road is not uncommon and should you want to explore things on the coast a very poor dirt road might be your only option. But I will not complain, considering some of the atrocious roads in this world I have had to drive.
Other possible hazards are the one way bridges, fortunately with enough vision to see oncoming cars.
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There are more sheep in Iceland than people so they stand by the side of the road just dying to dash into the road in front of you.
Of course it is always interesting to listen to Siri interpret the street names.
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The Icelanders are safety conscious, but they are very nice about it too.
The Streetlights of Akureyri Iceland
According to the Huff Post in an interview with the former mayor of Akureyri the traffic lights were instigated after the financial meltdown to “remind the citizens what really mattered” and give people a reason to smile at crosswalks and intersections.
Why aren’t these everywhere?
How fast are you going?
When you enter a town of course you must slow down. If you are doing the proper speed limit you receive a green smiley face, if you are not you get a red frowning face. There is no scolding, no fast flashing signs announcing your speed, just a nice reward, just like a gold star in kindergarten.
There are many nerve wracking very narrow roads that drop off precipitously with no guard rails, and then there are the one way tunnels.
It feels pretty good so far
Then you see headlights in front of you….
Fortunately there are turnouts, but it takes a moment to figure out the system. They are marked with large M’s that face both directions so everyone knows where they are, but I did have a close call none-the-less. Maybe an ignorant tourist?
Happy to see the light at the end of the tunnel – LITERALLY
There are presently ten tunnels in Iceland with another under construction. I traveled through Héðinsfjarðargöng, Iceland’s longest tunnel. Finished in 2010 it is 6.83 miles long. Found in Akureyri it stretches from Ólafsfjörður, going west to Síglufjörður. It is a two way tunnel.
Another I traveled through was the Breiðadals- and Botnsheiði tunnel at 5.66 miles. Part is two lanes, but most is one lane. Then I went through Arnardalshamar Icelands first tunnel that is a mere 98 feet long and two lanes. These were the most unique of the many tunnels I drove through.
The The Hvalfjörður Tunnel is especially interesting. It travels under the Hvalfjörður fjord. So the instant you enter you go down, at the bottom you start up again with very little leveled off road. The tunnel is 18, 930 feet long and goes 541 feet below seal level.
One last comment about the roads. There are absolutely no shoulders. You go for miles and miles and miles before you find a turnout. When you do, there will not be a sign to let you know, so most likely you pass it before you even know it is there. In fact, minus speed limit signs, warning signs, such as watch for cows or one lane bridges, there are no signs at all. You often pass the turnoff to your destination, then frantically look for a way to turn around.
Now, having said all of that, there are so few cars on the road that I was known to make a three point turn in the middle of the road. Of course it took me three days to get up the nerve to do so.