It has been estimated that Iceland’s tourist industry could lose up to 1 billion ISK if repairs are not made to the damaged bridge over the Múlakvísl glacial river, which was wiped out by a flood last weekend. Construction efforts are nonetheless moving at an almost rushed pace.
Last weekend’s glacial flood tore through Route 1 in the south of Iceland, destroying the bridge over Múlakvísl. Since then, a special amphibious truck has been used to move people and cars across the river. By all accounts this operation has been running smoothly.
However, Þorvarðar Árnason, director of the Hornafjörður branch of the University of Iceland, told Vísir that delays with bridge repair could end up costing the tourist industry in the region up to one billion ISK.
It has always been difficult to estimate just how much might be gained or lost from the tourist industry due to a particular event, and both under- and overestimation are not uncommon.
Meanwhile, it is believed that construction of the new bridge over Múlakvísl will be complete by the middle of next week, or just about 10 days from the time the bridge was destroyed. By contrast, the bridge that was wiped out by a massive glacial flood in 1996 took three weeks to repair.
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