– He’s a bit like an old Nokia from the early 2000s, says Svenn Egil Finden, director of the Norwegian Road Administration’s west department. – The tunnel apparently works perfectly well, but it is out of date. The Lærdal tunnel is located on the E16 and ensures a winter-safe road between Oslo and Bergen. Although the tunnel looks all well and good when you drive through, Finden believes that behind the facade hides a worn-out tunnel. The fan system, technical buildings and means of communication are just some of the things that need upgrading. EU requirements for tunnel safety and many old and tired tunnels have led to a major project to upgrade tunnels in Norway. Next year, the Lærsdalstunnelen is on its way. But the 25 kilometers of tunnel upgrades have caused a lot of anger and debate. Because while the work is progressing, the tunnel may have to close completely for a year. This has caused business, the tourism industry and the local population to react. 90 tunnels remain The tunnel safety regulations came in the wake of a catastrophic fire in the Mont Blanc tunnel on the border between Italy and France in 1999. 39 people lost their lives here. These are the EU requirements Better lighting Installation or improvement of ventilation Several emergency cabinets with telephones and fire extinguishers Emergency power lighting Guiding lights to help road users out in the event of a fire Several of the tunnels will also have video surveillance But the tunnel upgrades in Norway have taken time. Already in 2016, the authorities received sharp criticism from the National Audit Office. The work to improve the tunnels took too long, and in many tunnels the necessary safety measures were not carried out. So far, the Norwegian Road Administration has upgraded around 135 tunnels on national and European roads. 90 tunnels remain, even though the deadline for completing all the upgrades was in 2019. Stig Berg-Thomassen in the Norwegian Road Administration says that upgrading tunnels has been a demanding task. Photo: Håkon Eliassen / news – This is both about funding at the Storting level and the burden on the road network, in addition to it being a demanding task. That’s what the project manager for tunnel upgrades in the west and south, Stig Berg-Thomassen, says about why they haven’t finished the upgrades yet. In Norway, there are kilometers upon kilometers of tunnels and few detours. It is therefore difficult to upgrade the tunnels without affecting the road network. – It is both about the fact that there is a directive that must be complied with and that tunnels have a lot of equipment that has a limited duration. Equipment falls to pieces, it is refractory and must be replaced. What happens if the tunnels are not upgraded? – Then they eventually have to be closed because it is not sufficiently safe to drive them. We have almost been there in a few cases – that the condition is so bad that it is not advisable to use them. ESA has an open case EFTA’s supervisory body, ESA, now has an open case against Norway for not meeting the minimum safety requirements in road tunnels. This is confirmed by ESA’s communications manager, Jarle Hetland. ESA monitors how Norway follows the EEA rules. Two years ago they sent a notice to Norway that the minimum requirements in 68 tunnels had not been met. – Out of consideration for traffic safety, ESA has encouraged Norway to prioritize the upgrading of these tunnels. According to Hetland, they have asked Norway to consider interim safety measures until the upgrades start for the last tunnels. – The latest information from the Norwegian authorities means that several of these tunnels have been upgraded and that the number of tunnels that do not meet the safety requirements will be reduced to 45 tunnels by the end of 2022. – Should have understood the workload previously Norway reports annually to ESA and has all the time be open about ongoing processes, challenges and postponements due to the scope of the work. On the basis of these suspensions, ESA has notified of a “possibility of breach of treaty”, writes Corine Chiodini, tunnel coordinator in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. According to her, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration is evaluating risk-reducing measures in tunnels that do not meet the minimum requirements in the EU directive. Due to low traffic volumes, there are few minimum requirements that we do not meet. – The Swedish Road Administration should have understood and communicated earlier that there was much more work to do with the tunnel upgrades than adding equipment, says Chiodini. She adds that every change in the tunnel triggers necessary modernization. This leads to tunnel closures, which in turn causes great inconvenience for road users and commercial transport.
ttn-69
Therefore, the Lærdal tunnel must be upgraded – news Vestland
