Two days later, Einar Corneliussen, director of the Bergen Port Authority, stated that they had erred when they had permitted the Sotra Bridge to be built with a clearance below of , after abandoning their original demands of , and that large ships now had to sail around Hjeltefjorden. Although Bergen Mekaniske Verksted (BMV) previously had accepted a height of , that was in a time when drilling rigs could have their towers lowered, which was no longer the case. Corneliusen stated that the clearance on the Askøy Bridge would have to be at least . The Public Roads Administration stated that this would increase the span with . On 13 September 1978, Bergen Municipality stated that their official stand was that the bridge had to have a clearance of .