Engineer Norconsult is harnessing data insights and cloud technologies to improve connectivity between Norway's Sotra island and its second city Bergen
This is an edited excerpt from an article that originally appeared on Design & Make with Autodesk, a site dedicated to inspiring construction, manufacturing, engineering and design leaders.
Architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) firms have lately been tested by climate change, a pandemic, geopolitical unrest and economic ups and downs. The best have passed with flying colours. Technology provided some solutions; expertise and creativity did the rest.
In a sector where more than 64 per cent of companies describe themselves as digitally mature, pairing cloud platforms with innovation and adaptability has helped AEC punch through and excel, racking up notable successes along the way.
One project making the most of AEC’s data-led approach is Norway’s new Sotra suspension bridge – winner of a 2024 Autodesk Design & Make Award for Most Innovative Use of Autodesk Platform Services.
The design, engineering and project management for the bridge, now in construction, have all been carried out entirely in the digital realm by architecture and engineering firm Norconsult Norway, without relying on traditional drawings.
Using a Design & Make cloud platform made it possible to capture and connect huge volumes of data for 3D modelling, reporting, cost control and facility management. APIs helped create custom end-to-end workflows as well as analysing and optimising digital designs.
Digital designs for physical spans
New Sotra Bridge is a major component of Norway’s National Road 555 Sotrasambandet project, a £1.4 billion public-private partnership initiative and currently the largest infrastructure project by contract value in Europe.
When it opens its four lanes to traffic in the summer of 2027, the 900 metre (nearly a half-mile) suspension bridge will tower over the fjord separating Sotra Island from the rest of Norway’s Atlantic archipelago.
With towers soaring 145 metres above sea level, the bridge links Sotra with the 5.8-mile highway from nearby Bergen.
The project was run by the Sotra Link consortium, with design responsibility awarded to Norconsult, and with partners Webuild, FCC Construcción and SK Ecoplant handling construction.
Proving that digital processes can de-risk delivery and give clients greater visibility into progress was key to securing buy-in.
‘Our clients want to receive a bridge that is built on best practices and in the best state possible,’ says Vegard Gavel-Solberg, group manager for bridge projects at Norconsult. ‘Digital models really help in reducing errors during construction because they enhance each contractor’s understanding of tasks and their grasp of the bigger picture.’
With the state-backed project’s big budget and Norway’s reputation for eco-friendly construction, there was no doubt the bridges would be designed and built well. But multiple complexities related to the location ensured the project would be no simple feat.
‘One of the challenges in Norway is that it’s a snowy country,’ says Gavel-Solberg, ‘and we have a lot of weather. We have a lot of rain. We have a lot of snow. We have a lot of topology. This introduces consequences for how we need to design bridges in Norway to optimise the big economic picture during the lifespan of the bridge.’
To create this engineering feat, a global team used digital solutions including Autodesk Revit, Civil 3D, Inventor, Navisworks, Autodesk Platform Services and the Autodesk Construction Cloud.
For more on this case study, read the full article
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