Bjólfur – avalanche defenses

More about the project

To the east of the municipality of Seyðisfjörður, Bjólfstindur rises over 1,000 metres high, but at a height of about 650 metres up the mountain there is a ledge formed by hills and ridges. It is believed that the frequency of avalanches above Brún is much higher than below it, and the dams are supposed to prevent floods from reaching past Brún and down into the settlement.

In June 2003, work began on the development of avalanche defenses at Brún in Bjólfur. There are two avalanche defense dams, a levee and a catching dam. The defenses are 20 metres high and their lower part is built with a slope of 1:1.3–1:1.5. Their upper part, 10 metres, is steep 1:0.25, built with net grids. The levee is almost 200 metres long and the catching dam around 450 metres. Soil material for the defenses was entirely taken from the work site, but it is assumed that the total volume of fill for the defenses was over 210,000 square metres.

Verkís manages the project design of the catching dam and the levee, as well as the preparation of the tender documents.