Fintraffic coses the Vuosaari tunnel on 6 January 2026 for extensive renovations, with traffic diverted to the official substitute route.  The tunnel will be completely closed to traffic for about a year and its traffic diverted to the official substitute route. Multiple sections of the route have been upgraded over the past year, and the route is ready for diverted tunnel traffic.

The official substitute route runs along Itäväylä, Kallvikintie and Niinisaarentie to Vuosaari Harbour.

“The route has been upgraded with additional lanes, improved roundabouts as well as updated traffic light control and lane planning. In addition, winter maintenance has been raised to the highest level, and dedicated maintenance equipment has been assigned on the route,” explains Fintraffic Project Manager Jukka Värri.

Real traffic tests for the substitute route were conducted at the beginning of October

Traffic tests for the substitute route of the Vuosaari road tunnel were conducted on 6–9 October. It was the first test with all of next year’s organisation of traffic.

Traffic volumes during the day east of Kallvikintie in Itäväylä was 24,500 vehicles on the test days, nearly twice the normal volume (15,500). At 21,000 vehicles, traffic on Kallvikintie was nearly doubled (11,200).

“Traffic flowed reasonably well and as expected. Journey times from the harbour to the Itäväylä interchange varied between 7–8 minutes, with 13-minute journey times at peak hours. Road users should take this into account beginning in January,” Värri continues.

Read more about test week results

Fintraffic is responsible for the Vuosaari road tunnel’s renovation project and for improvement work on the alternative route. The City of Helsinki and the Uusimaa ELY Centre are responsible for planning improvements to the alternative route. 

Follow the project here.