With support from PWC, Vestland County Council has for the first time estimated the costs of securing the part of the county roads that are exposed to the risk of flooding. The county road network is often called the “everyday roads” and connects large and small across the country. In total, vegans cover more than 44,000 kilometers. For comparison, the national road network is just over 10,000 kilometres. The new calculation is based on NVE’s warning map combined with the road data bank and the Mapping Authority’s projections for future sea levels. What surprised the analysts was the size of the bill: NOK 38.7 billion. Only for vegans in Vestland. – That is an enormous number. Catastrophically high, says county mayor in Vestland, Jon Askeland (Sp). This year they received approximately NOK 800 million from the state for flood protection on the county road network. According to Askeland, this pot “must in any case be tredoblast”. – I understand that we cannot get everything at once, but we have been given a formidable climate challenge with wilder and wetter weather. This weekend is a reminder of that, he says. The map shows the number of roads affected by rock slides, landslides and avalanches on Monday morning. Several of the vegans have since been open, but not all. Photo: Skjermdump – It is more profitable to prevent than to repair In March, the National Audit Office revealed a large backlog in preparations for a wilder and wetter climate. The verdict was the second strongest level of criticism: “serious criticism”. Then came one of the most expensive natural disasters in Norway in recent times (“Hans”) and “forced” even more thorough evaluations. In a joint letter to the Ministry of Transport, a collective collegium of county mayors expressed concern about the “lack of safety and visibility on county roads”. In the same autumn, the KS national board decided that a “change of pace” is needed to strengthen climate adaptation. For the first time, Vestland County Council has estimated the costs of securing county roads that are exposed to the risk of flooding. Photo: IUA Voss Behind the report from Norway’s Water and Energy Directorate (NVE) that it would cost around NOK 85 billion to protect all buildings that are exposed to landslides, floe and erosion. – It is socio-economically profitable to prevent rather than repair damage. Nevertheless, we spend much more on repairs than on prevention, said the statement from KS. They added that the permits for flume, landslide and avalanche prevention measures under the auspices of NVE “must also cover county municipal infrastructure”. This is how much NVE spends on flood and avalanche prevention work Lands for flood and avalanche prevention (mapping, safety and environmental measures and avalanche monitoring) 2019–2023 2019: NOK 351 million 2020: NOK 585 million 2021: NOK 474 million 2022: NOK 352 million 2023 : NOK 590 million These are the final licenses each year. Final authorization includes allocation through the adopted state budget, changes through the revised national budget and the new balancing of the state budget, and any additional authorizations outside the ordinary budget rounds. The grant for flood and avalanche prevention does not include expenses for NVE’s warning service for floods and landslides, and not NVE’s investments and operation of the hydrological measuring station network. In addition, NVE’s own resources are used for the work, which is part of the administration, and is covered by ordinary operations. – We will never be completely safe. But we need a national investment in prevention, says Jon Askeland (Sp), who is county mayor in Vestland. Photo: Leif Rune Løland / news – It’s about people feeling safe In the Hurdalsplattforma, the government has committed to “developing a comprehensive and binding plan for the county’s roads”. Askeland has previously stated that the county council should have a key role as “turnkey contractor” in flood prevention. The background is reports on flume prevention projects that become “cast balls” in the system because different levels of administration (state, county and municipality) do not communicate well enough. – Implementing physical security measures requires a building owner’s organisation. Then we have better conditions than the fragmented state to get things done, says Askeland. In order to update the knowledge base in the face of more frequent and larger failures, the Støre government set up a “Total preparedness commission” last year. – Climate change means that it is critical that we have good tools to prevent flood and avalanche damage. This is about people feeling safe, stated Energy Minister Terje Aasland (Ap). The finished report “No er det alvor – Rusta for ei unwiss framtið” recommended strengthening the regional level. The same recommendation appears in the message “Together for a climate-robust society”, which is now being considered by the Storting. – It is now important that the message is followed up with concrete proposals, says chairman of KS, Gunn Marit Helgesen in a statement. She adds: – In our opinion, there is already enough knowledge to act rather than having to wait for more findings. So much is spent on the county roads After the county authorities took over responsibility for large parts of the former national road network in 2010, the county authorities have spent slightly more funds on the county roads than they have received from funds for the purpose from the state. However, this has not been sufficient to reduce the maintenance backlog on the county road network. In the period 2015-2022, approximately NOK 221 billion has been used for operation and investment in national roads. In the county municipalities, a total of approximately NOK 141 billion has been accounted for for operation, maintenance and investment in county roads. This means that for every kroner spent on county roads, close to 1.6 kroner was allowed on national roads during the period. A report from the Association of Consulting Engineers (RIF) concludes that it will require NOK 700 billion to upgrade the county’s roads from condition grade 2 to acceptable 4. A four means that “the facility has a good standard in accordance with current and future requirements and needs.” The Norwegian Public Roads Administration figures the backlog on the county road network in the whole country at NOK 95 billion. Snow and slush avalanches in Hardanger
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That’s how much it costs to protect vegans – news Vestland
