Image courtesy of Peter Kvalvikfjellet [http://www.kvalvik.no] |
The Atlantic Ocean Road is an 8.3-kilometer (5.2 mi) long
section of County Road 64 which runs through an archipelago in Eide and Averøy
in Møre og Romsdal, Norway.
The road traverses an unsheltered part of the
Norwegian Sea, connecting the island of Averøy with the mainland and
Romsdalshalvøya peninsula. The road is built on several small islands and
skerries, which are connected by a number of causeways, viaducts and eight
bridges—the most prominent being Storseisundet Bridge.
The route was originally proposed as a railway line in the
early 20th century, but this was ultimately abandoned. Serious planning of the
road started in the 1970s, and construction started on 1 August 1983. During
construction, the area was hit by twelve hurricanes, but despite the hazards
involved in completing the project, the road was opened in July 1989.
Today, the Atlantic Ocean Road is preserved as a cultural
heritage site and is classified as a National Tourist Route. For reasons that
will become clear as you watch the video below, the road is a popular site to
film automotive commercials, and it has been declared the world's best road
trip. There are four rest areas along the road from which stunning views of the
surrounding landscape (or should that be seascape?) can be viewed.
The video below was filmed by Heine Schjølberg, who lives in Kristiansund, Norway, a
city and municipality with a direct connection to the Atlantic Ocean Road.
Schjølberg states on his YouTube page that the video was shot with a GoProHero 2 and a Sony XDCAM EX1 camera. He goes on to say
that the footage was recorded the day after Cyclone Patrick (renamed Dagmar
by the Norwegian Weather Service) hit the area on Christmas Day, 2011.
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