Improvement work on the heavily trafficked Hemsedalsfjellet started last autumn. Normally, the speed limit on the mountain pass is 80 km/h. During the work, it has been reduced to 50 km/h in the construction area, while up to the area it is signposted at 70 km/h. – We have especially noticed that speed is not being respected well enough, says Morten Skoglund, responsible for work notification in Anlegg Øst Entreprenør. – Unsettling and shocking. The contractor must protect around 3,300 meters of milling streets, corresponding to what has already been established on the Vestland side of the county border. In addition, the stretch must be lit. The approach to several of the car parks is also worrying the Norwegian Road Administration. They are the builder. – We see people who are in a hurry, drive by and most recently today we saw people who ran a red light, says construction manager Bjørn Kåre Ifarnes. The contractor tried to narrow the road with reflective portals, but these were run over and destroyed. Now they have tried radar/speedometer. The highest measured speed is 199 km/h during working hours at the facility. The second highest measurement was 165 km/h. – It is both disturbing and shocking. Here, family members work alongside vegans, and we want them to be able to come home after the end of the working day too. I can’t find words, says Ifarnes. Smiley face or sour face The contractor has contacted several transport companies that do not follow the speed limit. It has not been particularly helpful on the heavily trafficked mountain pass between East and West Norway. The latest measure is a radar board to give fast drivers a sour face, while those who keep the speed limit get a green smile. – Respect the signs. There are family people who work along the road. We wish to have them home safely every day. Be careful, is the encouragement that construction manager Bjørn Kåre Ifarnes has for road users on Hemsedalsfjellet. Photo: Anlegg Øst Entreprenør Skoglund believes that they see more often than before that the roadsides do not respect construction work. – We have many more episodes than before. Project manager Knut Erik Skogen is worried about the safety of the contractor and their people. – The risk that the speeders expose other road users and themselves to is completely unjustifiable. Skogen says speeding offenders expose other road users and themselves to unjustifiable risks. – The traffic safety work with the vision of no one being killed or seriously injured in traffic, which several agencies and organizations are working on, is being emphatically opposed at the moment. There have been several media reports about savage driving in many places recently, he says. Ask the police for help The measurement shows that the majority of the cars that pass are above the limit of 50 km/h in the construction area. The results of the measurements have now been sent to the police. – Our wish is that the police can also be more visible in our construction area, preferably with speed control, says Skoglund. ENCOURAGEMENT: Police station chief Brit Fyksen asks the workers to separate the area well and to protect themselves. – If we are not in the area, but get a registration number and good descriptions, we can catch the car at the other end and handle it there, she adds. Photo: Tordis Gauteplass / news Police station chief for Gol and Hemsedal, Brit Fyksen, is familiar with the registration from Hemsedalsfjellet. – We really want to help, but I can neither confirm nor deny that we want to be there anymore, she says. The police must prioritize between their tasks, but after several cases of reckless driving in the district, the police have had extra focus on speeding among young drivers. – We want to make especially young drivers aware of the dangers they expose themselves and others to at high speeds, says Fykse.
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– Completely indefensible – news Vestland
