the Triangle Link, who argued to delay the decision until after the 1991 municipal elections, to ensure that the municipal councils had backing in the public. Gisle Tjong stated that the risk in the project was large and that it was uncertain how long the tolls would last: they could just as well be 60 as 15 years. He instead wanted to collect tolls in advance. The Triangle Link was approved by the various municipal councils in February and March 1988. Hordaland Public Roads Administration still supported a pontoon bridge, and stated that two and a half years of work on a master plan had been wasted. A new master plan for the Triangle Link was published in early 1989. During late 1989, advance tolls on the ferries was approved by the municipal councils and the county council. They recommended that collection start on 1 July 1990, but this was not immediately supported by the government. In July 1991, the master plan was passed by the Council of State. On 10 December 1992, Parliament approved advanced payment of tolls on the ferry, which were made effective from 1 January 1993. Ticket prices increased with between NOK 10 and 12. This resulted in protests from the ferry employees who stated that they would have to collect the tolls which would remove their jobs. Work on the development plan started in 1992. It included safety and environmental improvements which increased the project's cost by NOK 200 million. In May 1994, the plans was made subject to consultative statements. On 11 June 1996, Parliament approved with 144 against 20 votes to build the Triangle Link. The original name proposal for the bridge was ; this was later changed to after input from the municipal councils and name committees. Construction The construction of the Bømla Bridge was undertaken as part of the same contract as the Stord Bridge, which was awarded in December 1998 to Triangle Contractors, a joint venture between NCC and HBG Steel Structures. Most of the work was carried out by NCC with HBG having responsibility for the steel parts of the deck and the cables. HBG had previously built the steel for the Osterøy Bridge, which opened in 1997. The responsibility for the cables was given to Brown Beach Associates and Hordaland Mekaniske Verksted (HMV). Construction started on 25 March 1999. After the pylons were completed on 20 December 1999,