Traffic builds as travellers head west across Iceland

Traffic is growing heavier across western Iceland as increasing numbers of vehicles head west, mbl.is reports. Police say the Hvalfjord Tunnel, a road tunnel, is seeing particularly heavy traffic, with delays possible later in the day.

Ásmundur Kristinn Ásmundsson, chief superintendent with the West Iceland police, said roughly 100 people were travelling through the tunnel at the time of the interview. No accidents had been reported, and officers were monitoring the situation from posts throughout the area.

“Traffic is getting heavier, and it is nothing like a normal Wednesday,” Ásmundur told mbl.is.

No queues had formed in western Iceland, he said, but traffic had slowed considerably because of the sharp increase in volume. Counters recording traffic emerging from the tunnel showed a substantial rise, he added, including when he drove through the area at 7am.

Ásmundur said the traffic had the feel of a Friday and expected it to become heavier as the day progressed. Despite cloudy conditions and possible rain in western Iceland, he said traffic could become heavier than at the busiest times during the Commerce Weekend holiday.

Traffic was also increasing in the Reykjanes area, according to Daði Karlsson, a watch commander with the Suðurnes Fire and Rescue Service, although not significantly.

Emergency responders expect traffic heading west across Reykjanes to increase later in the day. However, they believe the weather could result in lighter traffic than initially expected.

“Everything is going well here,” Daði told mbl.is. “Because the weather is like this, there may be less traffic here than we expected, but we will see.”