ABSTRACT
In the year 2010, two pioneers in Iceland came up with the idea to create the first man-made glacial tunnel as an all year around tourist attraction. After three years of planning the excavation started in 2014. The project goal was to make glaciers in Iceland safe and accessible to all and let people experience the “blue ice” found at approximately 30 meters depth, crevasses and all which a glacier has to offer. The excavation was 5.500 m3 of ice and took 12 months to complete. The tunneling system consists of a 6 ton excavator with a drum cutter attachment and two telehandler payloaders. The maximum length excavated during one shift was 20 m/day. This article will describe the history of making the largest man-made ice cap glacier tunnel in the world, location of the tunnel, the tunneling system used, problems encountered, safety measures, investigations done on the glacier and the experience gained for future projects like this around the world.
