The case has been updated after publication, but corrections in information about the Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s work. – It is scary to think that the stones are not secured. If you stand in Kløfta, you can see stones moving, says Håkon Haldorsen. Most recently yesterday, there were landslides on the challenging stretch of road. Haldorsen lives in Alta and has a family cabin in Máze. That is why he drives on the E45 through Kløfta almost every week. The stretch is narrow, crooked and prone to landslides both in summer and winter. The stretch at Kløfta on E45 in Alta is a dreaded stretch of road both summer and winter. In April, Haldorsen himself began to document what he himself experienced as landslide-prone areas, as especially rocks he feared would eventually end up on the road. But every time he has reported something to Veitrafikksentralen, nothing is done until the landslide has passed. – I do not think anything happens until life goes by. That has been the case before, and that is how it will continue to be, he says. Håkon Haldorsen feels it is up to those who drive along Kløfta to keep the road safe. Photo: Håkon Haldorsen – Frustrating Road was temporarily closed on May 7 when a rock slide occurred. The same thing happened when a lump of ice the size of a car had fallen on the road. Both of these incidents had Haldorsen previously reported to Vegtrafikksentralen that they could be dangerous. – A contractor comes when the landslide has passed. But on some of the stones I think are on their way down, they have not done anything about it, says Haldorsen. Also last week, the road was closed during a period when a landslide occurred at Trangdalsvatn 20 km south of Alta. A landslide closed the E45 last week. Before the landslide, a lot of water crossed the road. Photo: Jonas Løken Estenstad / news Securing the main shipping route between northern Norway and Finland has long been in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s plans and in the National Transport Plan. The section is now in 6th place in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s top 20 list for priority road projects for the period 2023–2027. The price tag will be around NOK 1.124 billion. Nevertheless, Haldorsen does not believe that anything will happen in the first place. – It’s frustrating. It is well known locally, and nationally, that Kløfta is in the condition it is, he says. This is what it looked like when a lump of ice fell into the roadway on the E45 at Kløfta. Photo: Finnmark police district Recommends tunnel Siril Veikåker Nilsen in Vegtrafikksentralen (VTS) writes in an e-mail to news that they have received, logged and immediately reported the tips to the contractor. But the Norwegian Public Roads Administration reports that they have not received any complaints at the relevant landslide points where there have been landslides this spring. – It is not unusual for us to receive reports of concern from road users about the sections in Kløfta, Martin Venås writes during operation and maintenance in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration in an e-mail to news. He himself has been involved in assessing one of the areas in Kløfta after a report of concern this spring. – Must lives be lost before changes take place? – We are constantly working to improve the professional basis, and we are working on a new revised overview of the need for landslide protection, says Venås The Norwegian Public Roads Administration has prepared a zoning plan where a tunnel is recommended, because the current road is difficult to secure adequately. Venås says that the execution of landslide protection in Kløfta is demanding, and associated with risk for performing workers. Especially in the spring. Higher risk of landslides now There is a yellow landslide warning in North Troms and Finnmark due to the snowmelt. – There is a higher risk of landslides now due to the snowmelt we have in the area. In addition, high groundwater and snow must melt before it flows into the sea, says Anders Bjordal. He is a senior engineer at the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate, and says that they have also issued a yellow warning for flood danger. Bjordal expects the spring flood to come now. – We see that it is hot towards the weekend, but the temperature at night will go down. There will not be a large increase in floods, but still a steady flow of water in the watercourses in the weeks ahead, he says. Anders Bjordal in NVE says there is a yellow flood danger in the smaller and steeper watercourses while the snow melts. Photo: Hanne Bernhardsen Nordvåg / news
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Håkon Haldorsen warned of several landslide hazards on the E45 at Kløfta, but nothing happened before the landslides occurred – news Troms and Finnmark
