Road 50 has a remarkable history. For nine years, from 1991 to 2000, it was Norway's only ferry-free connection between Eastern Norway and Bergen. Drivers could avoid the Hardangerfjord ferries and the unpredictable Hardangervidda winter crossings by taking this route through Aurlandsdalen.
The road exists because of hydropower. When Oslo Lysverker won approval to develop the Aurland waterfalls in 1969, they needed access for construction. The decision was hugely controversial - Norway's first major clash between hydropower and nature conservation. A two-hour live TV debate on NRK preceded the Stortinget vote. Protesters threatened to chain themselves to machinery, though that didn't happen until Mardøla a year later. Locals supported the project. The protesters were mostly outsiders.
The road opened in 1974, initially summer-only. By 1991, with connections to Flåm and through Gudvangatunnelen to Gudvangen, it became the main east-west route.
Then in November 2000, Lærdalstunnelen opened. Traffic shifted overnight. Today, just 370 vehicles per day use this road - a quiet reminder of its brief importance. The tunnels between Vassbygdi and Stonndal were never widened to modern standards. Nobody saw the point.