to collect tolls on all traffic on the bridge. The optimal crossing point ran over Norwegian Talc's plant, and would involve placing the western pylon in the middle of their area. The company offered the authorities free land on the condition that they received a satisfactory intersection with the bridge. A formal agreement was reached in mid-1970. On the eastern side, an area development plan had to be made, which was approved on 19 May 1967. The necessary land not already owned by the municipalities was expropriated. Initial plans had called for the bridge to be completed by October 1972. On 28 December 1968, the company asked the road administration if construction could be quickened. They estimated that the bridge could be completed by December 1971 for a price increase of NOK 750,000. This gave the company NOK 2 million more in profits, as it could more quickly start collecting toll revenue. The company chose to accept this extra cost. The start of construction was delayed, first by the parliamentary decision coming right before the holidays, followed immediately by a national strike by engineers. The contract for the foundation and concrete work was won by Selmer, who started work in March 1969. The steel-work contracts were issued to Høsveis, Bofa and Alfred Andersen; despite them not having the lowest bid, the road administration chose to use the largest companies. On 11 December 1971, the bridge opened for traffic, and on the same day, the Alvøy–Brattholmen Ferry was terminated. In February 1972, there were twice as many cars as there had been on the ferry in February 1971. The official opening by King Olav V took place on 25 May 1972. The bridge cost NOK 39.8 million to construct. This included NOK 650,000 for the county road between Knarrevik and Brattholmen, which had been paid for by the state. The cost the company had to pay was NOK 23.45 million. The final estimates for the project were for NOK 34 million, and the whole cost above this was covered by the state. When it opened, the bridge was the longest in Norway. Tolls and auxiliary projects Since the bridge would be the only road from the mainland to the archipelago, tolls could be collected in only one direction. The tolls were set to NOK 40 for semitrailers, NOK 30 for buses, NOK 20 for trucks, NOK 12 for cars, NOK 5