The National Audit Office has examined whether the road authorities are making arrangements for operation and maintenance of the road network to be carried out efficiently and with good quality. This is so that the goals of improving appearance, traffic safety and the environment are achieved for both national and county roads. Operation and maintenance have a lot to say in order to reach the national transport targets. The results of the investigations were presented today. Factors related to operation and maintenance contribute to approximately 30 fatal accidents on Norwegian roads a year, according to the National Audit Office. The development has been stable in the period 2017–2021. – Operation and maintenance are of great importance both for the risk of an accident occurring, and for the extent of the damage, the National Audit Office concludes in the report that was made public on Thursday. Concern for safety The backlog in maintenance of Norwegian roads is well felt. Literally speaking. – It exploded all over the place, sighs Lilly Sundin. Ånnerødveien in Skien is one of the vegan roads in Vestfold and Telemark that clearly needs upgrading. In recent times, it has become much worse because heavy transport frequently transports masses to a field to be filled in. FRUSTRATED NEIGHBORS: Lilly Sundin, Frøydis Hegna and Gerd Ørbeck Langedal. Back from left: Roger Solgaard, Lasse Gundersen and Marius Gunnulfsen Leiulvsrud. Photo: Anita Moland / news The neighbors along the road are concerned about safety, and angry that sewer pipes and foundation walls are cracked. The county municipality, which owns the road, is also in despair. Vegans in the county failed and the wallet is empty. In Vestfold and Telemark, there is a maintenance backlog of approximately NOK 8 billion. – There is a lack of government funding, says Gunnar Berg Treidene. He is director of transport in Vestfold and Telemark county municipality. County-by-county overview of the maintenance needs There is now a national mapping of the backlog of maintenance of county roads, which will be ready in the autumn in connection with the work on the new National Transport Plan 2025-2036 (NTP). This is the overview news has collected as of May 2023. Some counties have old figures. Troms and Finnmark: NOK 10 billion. Nordland: NOK 8-9 billion. Trøndelag: approx. NOK 5 billion. Møre and Romsdal: NOK 16.8 billion. Vestland: approx. NOK 16 billion. Rogaland: NOK 4.5-5 billion. Agder: NOK 5.8 billion. Telemark and Vestfold: NOK 8 billion. Viken: NOK 10 billion. Inland: NOK 7-8 billion. of the country’s 56,000 kilometers of national and county roads. The goal is clear: Vegans must be safe, approachable and environmentally friendly. The National Audit Office believes that there are several weaknesses in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s management and follow-up of operation and maintenance work. Auditor General Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB – It is not satisfactory that the Ministry of Transport does not secure sufficient information about the results of the work with operation and maintenance on national and county roads, said Auditor General Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen when he presented the results of the investigation on Thursday. – It is objectionable that the costs for operation and maintenance have increased a lot since 2015 without this having resulted in more accessible, environmentally friendly or safer national and county roads. Operation and maintenance have a lot to say in order to reach the national transport targets. Must follow up on national targets The National Roads Administration is responsible for most of the national road network, while the county municipalities are responsible for the county roads. The investigation reveals several weaknesses in the Norwegian Road Administration’s management and follow-up of the operation and maintenance work. The Swedish Road Administration does not use important data well enough, and maintenance planning is not predictable for the contractors. – This results in more expensive operation and maintenance than necessary. Many IT systems and routines are also deficient, and the follow-up of operating contracts has weaknesses, says Schjøtt-Pedersen. In total, they spend NOK 21 billion on this every year. The tasks include everything from ploughing, spreading, washing and cleaning to keep things open, to asphalt renewal, replacement of railings and measures in bridges and tunnels. – Now that the road sector has been reorganised, the Ministry of Transport has an even more important role. They must monitor whether the national targets are achieved, also where the county councils are responsible, concludes Schjøtt-Pedersen. The distribution of responsibility for Norwegian roads Photo: Dina Storvik / news The National Road Administration is responsible for the vast majority of the national road network, while the county municipalities are responsible for the county roads. These road authorities spend over NOK 21 billion every year on operating and maintaining the road network in Norway. Operation of the road network includes tasks that ensure that vegans are kept open and work well for the use of road users, such as ploughing, spreading, gardening, washing and cleaning. The maintenance includes measures to ensure that the standard of the road and road objects is maintained, such as asphalt renewal, ditch clearing, replacement of guardrails, and various measures in bridges and tunnels. The Swedish Road Administration will take action The Swedish Road Administration believes that the National Audit Office has carried out a good and thorough investigation that gives a good picture of the challenges in the operation and maintenance of the national roads, and which the Swedish Road Administration is already well underway in addressing. Bjørn Laksforsmo, director of operations and maintenance in the Norwegian Road Administration. Photo: Gunhild Hjermundrud/news – We have succeeded in slowing price growth, we have strengthened cooperation with the market and we have introduced new forms of contract that will give us more visibility, traffic safety and climate reduction for the money, says Bjørn Laksforsmo, head of the Swedish Road Administration’s division for operations and maintenance. He says that the use of new technology provides better information about the condition of the road network in order to prioritize maintenance measures at the right time, which also provides more maintenance for the money.
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