– The situation shows the vulnerability of the infrastructure in northern Norway. It is neither robust nor sustainable, says regional manager of the Norwegian Truck Owners Association, Odd-Hugo Pedersen. This week, the Badderen bridge on the E6 in Kvænangen in North Troms was destroyed by spring floods. Both lorries, buses and cars do not cross the river. The detour is almost 700 kilometers, via Finland, a stretch corresponding to the distance between Oslo and Namsos. Affects security of supply in the country Brukollapsen has created major challenges, including for the transport of goods. The detour through the neighboring countries leads to extra long driving distances, extra rest time for the drivers and thus increased costs. – For both the member companies and the customers we serve, it is quite serious when the drivers have to spend more time on the transport assignment. Increased use of time results in greatly increased costs, especially with the demanding diesel prices we currently have. – Who takes the bill for all the transports that cost extra? – We must apply to have the costs covered by our customers, and if they are not willing to do so, we can not run at a loss over time, he says. – This situation shows that we have a main traffic artery that is too vulnerable for us to have good enough security of supply in the country. Regional manager of the Norwegian Truck Owners’ Association, Odd-Hugo Pedersen. Photo: Vilde Kristine Malmo / news – Miserable roads in the district Also deputy head of the MDG, Arild Hermstad, believes the use collapse in Kvænangen is a clear example that the road network in the district is not a priority. – It shows that our roads in the district are miserable. In Saturday’s Helgemorgen on P2 and NRK1, Hermstad directs much of the criticism against Frp. – It is the party that has a lot of responsibility. During his period with the Minister of Transport and Communications, road maintenance was downgraded. Instead, the focus was on building large, new motorways in areas with good road capacity from before, he says and adds: MDG deputy director, Arild Hermstad, believes that more resources must be spent on road improvements in the district, rather than building motorways along byene. Photo: Heidi Fjørtoft Klokk / news – In the cities you can travel well in other ways, while in the districts there are no alternatives to the car. For the business community and people to come forward, we have to take care of the roads we have. Hermstad believes that priority is still given to insufficient resources to improve the road network in the district, and says the current government must act. – The people who live in the district with, for example, bridges that are unsafe are wondering when the maintenance and upgrades will come. Then it helps little to talk about it. The government must deliver. They have not done that so far. The Minister of Transport and Communications has been presented with the criticism, and was also asked to participate in the program, but declined. Rejects the criticism Storting representative for Frp, Per-Willy Amundsen, rejects the criticism of Hermstad. On the contrary, he believes that FRP has been a driving force in improving the road network. – It is rare to hear criticism that is such a total record boom and that hits so badly. MDG is the party that votes against the major development projects in northern Norway, while the FRP more than doubled the national road investment while we were in government. However, he emphasizes that it will take a long time to rebuild and maintain the road projects in the region. – But it is a totally unsustainable situation we are now in. We will not experience that Norway is divided in two as we saw now. This shows that we must have a stronger effort, and this must happen over many years. The districts must be given priority. – Something must happen now In the last few days, ten lorries with almost 200 tonnes of bridge material have arrived in North Troms. The parts will be built together to form a temporary bridge over Badderen. During the next week, traffic on the E6 in North Troms will return to normal, according to the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. Until then, all traffic will have to go via the long detour through Finland. Necessary medicines must be transported by boat and the speedboat must be used to transport students to school. Although Odd-Hugo Pedersen in the Norwegian Truck Owners’ Association believes that the necessary steps have been taken to put in place a replacement bridge, he has a clear message to the authorities: – The example we see in Kvænangen now is nothing new. We constantly experience such situations. A sustainable infrastructure must be built in Norway, which means that we can use our own national road networks. – Something has to happen now. Live camera showing the bridge over the E6 in Badderen in Kvænangen municipality in North Troms.
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Directs criticism of the authorities after the collapse of use in Troms – news Troms and Finnmark
