A new route was launched by Bømlo Mayor Malvin Meling, who proposed a pontoon bridge which would cross Stokksundet. He was inspired by the plans to build what would become the Nordhordland Bridge north of Bergen. In 1973, the municipal councils of Bømlo, Stord and Fitjar decided to launch a planning process, which concluded that a pontoon bridge between Sørstokken and Foldrøyholmen would be optimal. The report also considered bridges across the Fitjar Archipelago and a crossing via Spissøy and Føyno. There were protests from Wichmann Motorfabrikk who were concerned about their operations if the sound was closed for shipping traffic. Similar protests also came from the shipping industry, who wished to continue using Stokksundet; the protests were not remedied by the plans including a suspension bridge across Foldrøysundet. To illustrate their point, one shipowner let two of his ships cross in the middle of Foldrøysundet. The shipping industry received support from Norwegian Coastal Administration and the plans were abandoned in 1974.