Sortland Bridge (Norwegian: Sortlandsbrua) is a cantilever road bridge that crosses the Sortlandssundet strait between the village of Strand on Hinnøya island and the town of Sortland on Langøya island. It is located within the municipality of Sortland in Nordland county, Norway. The bridge is 948 metres (3,110 ft) long, the main span is 150 metres (490 ft), and the maximum clearance to the sea is 30 metres (98 ft). The bridge has 21 spans.

Sortland Bridge was opened in 1975. It was one of four bridges that were built in the 1970s to connect the islands of Vesterålen to each other. The other bridges that were built during that period are Hadsel Bridge, Andøy Bridge and Kvalsaukan Bridge. Together with Tjeldsund Bridge near Harstad these bridges connect the islands of Vesterålen to the mainland. Sortland Bridge was a toll bridge for many years after its opening. Before the bridge was built, a ferry carried passengers across the strait. The ferry crossing was one of the busiest in Norway.

 Sortland  is a town and municipality in Nordland county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Vesterålen. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Sortland. Other population centres in Sortland include Bø, Holand, Holmstad, Liland, Sigerfjord, and Strand. The Norwegian Coast Guard has its northern base in Sortland, called Kystvaktskvadron Nord.

In 1997, the municipality decided to declare "township" for Sortland. Sortland is the largest town and commercial centre in Vesterålen. Sortland is located close to the Sortland Bridge, connecting Langøya to Hinnøya by road. Since a lot of houses in the town are painted blue, Sortland is sometimes referred to as "the blue city". In January 2012, the number of citizens in Sortland reached 10,000.

General information

The municipality of Sortland was established in 1841 when it was separated from the municipality of Hadsel. On 1 January 1963, the Holm area (population: 65) of Langenes and the area around the inner and western part of the Eidsfjorden (population: 1,360) was transferred to Sortland. On 1 January 2000, the area surrounding the Godfjorden was transferred from Kvæfjord (and Troms county) to Sortland (and Nordland county).