16 júní 2026

New Horna­fjörður Ring road secti­on opens June 24th

The Ring road will be shortened by 12 km with the opening of the new road, whilst the road to Höfn is shortened ever further, or around 14.6 km. The project’s scope was considerably large as nearly 19 km of new Ring road was built, alongside 9 km of other roads and four two-lane bridges, totalling in at 468 m. A resting area, as well as a roundabout, were also constructed along Hafnarvegur.

The lead-up to the project took a long time, with initial plans presented back in 2004. Bidding was opened for the first section in 2017, which consisted of 5 km of road embankment construction. Bidding opened for the second section in 2021, but saw all bids rejected. Bidding was reopened in May of 2022 as a cooperative project, with an agreement reached with Ístak in July of the same year. Construction began thereafter in the fall.

Key project sections:

• Highways (C8), totalling around 18,5 km
• Connective roads (C7), totalling around 4,4 km
• Supplemental roads (D), totalling around 4,4 km
• New two-lane bridge over Djúpá, 52 m
• New two-lane bridge over Hornafjarðarfljót, 250 m
• New two-lane bridge over Hoffellsá, 114 m
• New two-lane bridge over Bergá, 52 m
• Roundabout connecting the Ring road with Hafnarvegur and Nesjahverfi
• Rest area by Brunnhóll.

Opening ceremony on new Hornafjarðarfljót bridge

The new route will be formally opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Wednesday, June 24th, at 15:00. The ceremony will take place on the new Hornarfjarðarfljót bridge. Ceremony guests coming from the west can drive up to the bridge from Djúpárvegur, whilst guests coming from the east can drive up the new road, past the new Höfn roundabout. Following the ceremony’s conclusion, the road will be open to general traffic. The IRCA invites anyone to come observe the ceremony and to attend light refreshments in the Holt community centre at Mýrar.

The Hornafjörður Womens’ Choir will sing at both the ceremony and the community centre. The choir attained relative fame in 2020 when they sang at all one-lane bridges in Austur-Skaftafellssýsla to raise awareness for the need to replace said bridges with new two-lane ones.

Road tolls from September 1st, 2026.

Road tolls will be instated to finance the operation in accordance with cooperative project laws. The Hornafjörður section of the Ring road is the IRCA’s first cooperative project.

The total cost for the Hornafjörður project is estimated around 10,000,000,000 ISK. Cooperative project laws estimate that road toll collection should account for a minimum of 50% of construction, maintenance, operation and development costs of the project. This collection will continue for a maximum of 30 years.

Road tolls will be instated on September 1st, 2026.

Road toll arrangement

The IRCA aims to make the toll collection process as streamlined as possible for all who might use the new road. The collection will be fully automated, with drivers not needing to sign in, or pay immediately as they drive through. Automated cameras will log each car’s number and perform directory searches, with bills sent to the owner’s account at the end of every month. The website www.spolur.is will be set up so that individuals can view their usage and to provide answers to frequently asked questions. The site is still in-progress and will be launched later this summer.

Price list

The road toll was designed based on how much individuals were willing to pay for the reduced distance, lower fuel and operating costs, and better driving conditions inherently gained by the project.

The Ring Road stands to be shortened by 12 km, with the road from Mýrar to the roundabout by Hafnarvegur shortening even further. Said road is currently 28.3 km, but stands to be shortened to 13.7 km with the new road. Estimates therefore show that travellers will be around 15-20 minutes quicker to drive the route.

The toll for vehicles under 3.5 tonnes will be 1,500 ISK. Vehicles between 3.5 and 7.5 tonnes are subject to a 2,100 ISK toll, whilst vehicles above that limit are subject to a 4,500 ISK toll. Discounts will be offered for small, and medium-sized vehicles, and a limit will be placed on total monthly payments. Small vehicles will not pay more than 18,750 ISK per month, and medium-sized vehicles will not pay more than 26,250 ISK. The upper limit, then, is aimed around 22 trips monthly. The same limit does not apply for the tolls levied on the largest vehicles.

The price list is designed to be consistently reviewed as determined necessary.