Until the Eysturoyartunnilin opened in December 2020, Norðoyatunnilin was the longest tunnel in the Faroe Islands.

In 1988 Landsverkfrøðingurin (the national office of public works) carried out a number of seismic investigations in Leirvíksfjørður (the strait between Eysturoy and Borðoy).

A year earlier, an engineer had drawn up an overall plan showing alternative sites for constructing tunnels.

Further surveys in 1988 confirmed that the tunnel plans were considered to be economically viable.

In 2003, after the 1990s Faroese economic crisis, work began on boring the tunnel between Eysturoy and Borðoy.