Hailuoto fixed link opens today

Hailuoto’s fixed connection to the mainland opens today, ending nearly 60 years of ferry service to the island, Yle reports.

A live broadcast of the opening ceremony begins at 11:25 local time. The final ferry departs Oulunsalo at 11:30, with the fixed link officially opening at 11:45. Two cars will then set off simultaneously from both ends—one from Hailuoto, driven by Antti Helanen in a Volkswagen Beetle that was among the first to use the ferry in 1968, and one from Oulunsalo, carrying Minister of Transport and Communications Lulu Ranne.

The 8.4 km connection consists of two bridges (Huiku, 767 m; Riutu, 737 m) and a 6.9 km causeway. Construction finished a month ahead of schedule.

Hailuoto, the largest island in the Bothnian Bay, is a municipality of about 1,000 residents.