Route 1 (Iceland)

In more rural parts of the country, mostly in the glacial plains of the south and the Eastfjords, 31 single-lane bridges exist on the Ring Road.[7] Dating back to the original construction of the road in the 1970s, they are sometimes constructed of wood or steel. Vehicles who approach the bridge first have the right of way. These are often narrow and long, making passing difficult, especially when there is high traffic.

Non-locals, unaware of the rules of single-lane bridges, have ended in head-on and serious collisions using these bridges. Considered a major safety issue, the Icelandic Road Administration aims to rebuild/upgrade all bridges on the ring road to modern 2 lane standards. Single lane bridges were reduced from around 60 in 2010, to 32 in 2020.[8] In the next 5 years, a further 14 one-lane bridges are to be rebuilt, mostly along the south coast. [9]

Route 1 has the highest priority for snow removal from the Icelandic Road Administration and is serviced seven days a week during the winter,[10] with teams keeping the road open as weather allows. Conditions are monitored 24/7 and relayed to the public through their website and telephone helpline. During extreme weather it may take hours until the weather calms down to open the road, or for maintenance teams to clear the road of snow after major snowfalls.

A few major mountain passes prone to closure in heavily trafficked parts of the ring road:

• Hellisheiði, between Reykjavík and Hveragerði
• Holtavörðuheði, between Borganes and Staðarskáli (on the Reykjavík to Akureyri route)
• Vatnsskarð, between Blönduós and Varmahlíð (on the Reykjavík to Akureyri route)
• Öxnadalsheiði, between Varmahlíð and Akureyri (on the Reykjavík to Akureyri route)
• Biskupsháls, between Akureyri and Egilsstaðir

Winter closures used to be more common in the past. In recent years, new tunnels such as the 7.4km long Vaðlaheiðargöng near Akureyri in the north, have reduced the need to close the road due to snow. Prior to rerouting, the route between Breiðdalsvík and Egilsstaðir (over the Breiðdalsheiði plateau) in the east was often closed in winter.[11] Route 1 was rerouted in November 2017,[12] now using the somewhat sinuous coastal route via Reyðarfjörður, using (now former) Routes 96 and 92 to travel between the towns.

Route 1 crosses a few glacial plains, such as Skeiðarársandur, which made the original road construction difficult in the 1970s. In addition, the Skeiðarársandur plain is subject to frequent glacial floods during or after eruptions on the nearby Grímsvötn volcano. Bridges and other stretches of road over the plains have had to be rebuilt as a result, notably during the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in 2010, when the ring road was severed for several days in the south. These are not considered to a be a risk to everyday travellers as the roads are closed well in advance of a warning of a volcanic eruption.

Ölfusárbrú in Selfoss, built in 1945, a major crossing on the southern part of Route 1.

Since its completion, the ring road has seen constant growth in traffic, and has seen an even quicker growth during the recent rise in number of tourists arriving in Iceland. Average traffic recorded along the ring road rose from a consolidated count of 57,000 vehicles per day in 2005 to over 90,000 vehicles per day in 2019.[13]

Route 1 is popular with tourists since it covers most of the country and many sights of interest are located near to the route. It has long been a popular route with Icelandic families going on summer vacation, but in recent years the route is becoming more popular with foreign tourists who either rent a car or bring their own on the ferry to Seyðisfjörður.

Traffic levels on the road vary considerably between locations: in and near Reykjavík around 20,000-50,000 vehicles use the road daily,[14] rural sections serving routes between Reykjavik and Akureyri in the west and Reykjavík and Vík in the south see traffic volumes of around 2,000 to 5,000 vehicles per day. The stretches farthest away from larger towns, mostly in the sparsely inhabited east of the country see an average around 500 vehicles per day.

Traffic on the ring road is also subject to considerable variation between the winter and summer, with the traffic in summer often being double or more than during the winter. This is due to a lower flow of tourist and agricultural traffic, as well as the roads being less passable or even closed during the winter. Traffic can become considerably heavy on weekends during the summer, when locals flock to travel around the country for holidays, camping and summer house visits across the country.

Heavy summer traffic is especially a problem during the summer at the town of Selfoss, where a single two lane bridge, Ölfusárbrú, is routed through the town carries practically all of the traffic in the south of the country, a significant bottleneck.[15] This is planned to be replaced by a new bypass road and new 4-lane bridge over the Ölfus river, with current plans seeing it complete by 2025.[16]

• Hvalfjörður Tunnel
• Almannaskarð Tunnel
• Fáskrúðsfjarðargöng
• Vaðlaheiði Tunnel