Afraid of Heights? Here’s Your Challenge

Work on an observation platform on Bolafjall mountain, towering over the town of Bolungarvík, the West Fjords, will likely resume in late May, Morgunblaðið reports. The work is scheduled to be completed by September. The mountain is famous for the stunning view it offers over Ísafjarðardjúp fjord and Jökulfirðir fjords.

The platform is predicted to become quite a magnet for the area, and within ten years, 100,000 people are expected to visit Bolafjall mountain annually. A 55-meter long stretch of the platform, which will be made of steel and glass, will overhang the cliff at an elevation of 600 meters (1,968 ft) above sea level. This may sound scary to those of you who are afraid of heights.

Eykt construction company has been in charge of the project on the mountain top, and preparatory and design work was recently completed. The platform was designed by Landmótun and Sei Studio, while Efla engineering firm provided civil engineering consultation.

The platform will be made in Poland, and the steel and wire rail is expected to arrive on board a container ship in the nearby town of Ísafjörður by mid-summer. The containers will be transported by truck to the mountain top. A glass rail for part of the platform will be made by Samverk. Twelve-meter-long (39 ft) beams will be installed at certain intervals.

A radar station is located on the mountain top. It was built by the US military, but is now operated by the Icelandic Coast Guard.