In the 1970s, National Road 1 (today part of E39) was established through Knarvik towards Sognefjorden, resulting in upgrades to the roads in Nordhordland, and making the crossing one of the main routes from the north. At the same time, it was decided to establish a refinery at Mongstad in Lindås. In 1971, details about the suspension bridge were again discussed, with three different proposals with the main span of between with tall pylons. There were protests from the Salhus area, as the suspension bridge would have resulted in the demolishing of part of the residential area.