– We can not scale down this road, says Rennebu mayor Ola Øie (Labor). He talks about the E6 south of Trondheim that runs through his municipality. He now looks with concern at what will happen with the planned four-lane development. The reason: His own party entered into an agreement with SV on a revised national budget. UNREST: Mayor of Rennebu, Ola Øie (Labor). The Labor Party, the Socialist People’s Party and the Socialist People’s Party announced on Tuesday that they will “scale down large motorway projects”. The agreement entered into by the Storting states in concrete terms that the government will “assess and submit proposals on how large projects can be scaled down to save nature and topsoil, as well as save costs and allow for a stronger focus on maintenance and upgrading of existing transport infrastructure”. . The four-lane roads under the microscope news has asked a number of sources with insight into the negotiations on what road project this in practice will mean something for. The answer is not immediately given. Because in the negotiations themselves, the party has not pointed out individual projects that are to be slimmed down. But parts of the answer are in the inbox of the Minister of Transport. Several political sources point out that the processes that are underway at the Ministry of Transport and Communications provide decisive guidelines for road cuts in the future. This means that road projects that can tick off the following criteria will come under scrutiny: Projects that are within the current National Transport Plan, but are still in the planning phase, ie one has not started construction. Planned as a four-lane road, but has relatively low traffic. And not least: Project where the professional work with new road standards shows that it is possible to scale down. On such projects, there will be a lot of money to be made. – I am afraid that the road here will be scaled down from four lanes to 2/3 lane roads, says Rennebu mayor Ola Øie. – We have a lot of traffic through our municipality and we will have a huge freight week in the future. The road in his region is one of those that will become a political issue further. It is planned as a four-lane road, but the traffic volume is moderate. HORDFAST: The four-lane motorway between Bergen and Stavanger with fjord sprinkles has been discussed. Illustration: SVV Fjordkryssinga Hordfast south of Bergen is another well-known road example that will be considered and become the subject of new political negotiations. New motorway ideas In the negotiations on the revised state budget, SV recorded several specific road projects that the party wanted to make savings on already this year. They did not make it. The government believed that in most cases it was not possible to save anything. For the governing party Sp and Ap, it was also irrelevant to cut in projects where one is already under construction or this is just around the corner. But the Social Democrats and the Labor Party were comfortable with an agreement that says that they will look at the scope of future projects. Because they have already given notice. And they live well with a wording that points to a process that is already well underway: The Ministry of Transport and Communications has asked the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Nye veier to provide input to new road standards. It may seem technical, but it is significant. In the proposal that was sent to the ministry the day after the agreement on the revised budget, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Nye Veier point out that it is possible to build less area-demanding motorways with lower speeds. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s proposal was first discussed in VG, and it entails: Higher traffic threshold for when one can build a four-lane road. Today it can be built when there are 6000 cars a day («year-round traffic»). The Norwegian Public Roads Administration proposes to raise the limit to 8000. New Roads agrees with this, but points out that it will not apply to so many projects. Higher traffic threshold for when it should be four lanes and 110 km / h. Today, the threshold is 12,000 cars a day, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration thinks it can be raised to 15,000. New Roads does not agree with this. – Many two- and three-lane roads that were built in the 90s were too small after a few years. Building new after a few years is expensive for society and bad for the climate and environment, says Christian Altmann, communications director at Nye Veier. But politicians ultimately decide. Lower speed. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration wants more four-lane roads with 90 and 100 km / h speed limits. This is what New Roads agrees with. Several narrower motorways. Both the Norwegian Public Roads Administration and Nye Veier mean that one can walk from 23 to 20 meters wide on several motorways. ASSESSMENTS: Minister of Transport Jon-Ivar Nygård (Labor Party). Photo: Pål Hansen Nye Veier writes about the last point that it is possible to save 150 million kroner per mile on such a width reduction. Minister of Transport and Communications Jon Ivar Nygård (Labor Party) does not say anything about the proposal beyond a written comment that “the next step will be for the Ministry of Transport and Communications to consider the proposal for changes in road standards and the assessment made for the projects”. But the list of four-lane road projects that are included in the National Transport Plan shows in practice where the room for maneuver is. In the table below, news has listed the four-lane projects so that those with the lowest traffic numbers come first. Some projects are long distances where there are different traffic numbers at different points on the road. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration writes that they have reviewed their projects with a view to whether they should change if the road standards are changed. E134 Kongsberg – Notodden and E18 Retvedt – Vinterbro can then be scaled down, they write. While they “for example do not” suggest changes to Hordfast due to normal changes. On the other road administration projects, they write that they do not plan or recommend changes. Nye Veier tells news that they consider the standard, road width and speed of most of the projects they are responsible for, but that they do not want to speculate on what is possible yet.Not always the most expensive in dropping road project. Sp and Ap have not been interested in no. But both the outcome of the revised negotiations and the professional contributions to the Ministry of Transport and Communications point out a road policy where one can save large costs and space. The government is more interested in that. – We must move to a time that covers motorists’ needs, says Geir Pollestad, who negotiated the budget agreement for the Center Party in the Storting. FAST, SAFE, BUT CHEAPER: These are Geir Pollestad (Sp)’s goals for new road projects. Photo: Torstein Bøe / NTB – They will be allowed to drive fast and safely, but with slightly less tolls and slightly less development costs and strain on the local environment. Pollestad will not comment on which individual project may notice the consequence, and says it was important for the governing party not to discuss individual roads in the negotiating room. – But does that mean that projects within the current national transport plan will be scaled down? – Yes, we must see if it is possible without it going beyond the offer to motorists. It will be absolutely crucial for us. But we believe that there is room to scale down many transport projects and build a somewhat simpler standard. It does not always have to be the most expensive option that is chosen. – What does this agreement point mean as SV reads it? TA DOWN: SVs Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes. Photo: Anne Sofie Rønnfeldt / news – We want to reduce the huge investment in the National Transport Plan on motorways with many fields for cars and instead use the funds on utility roads in districts, railways and green infrastructure, says Storting representative Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes who has been involved in the negotiation process for SV. – We want these changes to take place as early as the autumn, says Fylkesnes, and points to the negotiations on the state budget for 2023. The governing party’s representatives also point out that the negotiations this autumn will be important for the future of several road projects. – What kind of individual projects will SV scale down? – Several of the European roads, including several of the projects on the ferry-free E39, but also several projects in the Australian area, says Fylkesnes. The Center Party’s Erling Sande, who is a member of the transport committee in the Storting, started the debate on downscaling projects earlier this year. Now he says that the recording to the Ministry of Transport opens up to reduce the project exactly as he wants. – I experience that the Norwegian Public Roads Administration provides professional support for the debate I and Sp raised this winter. We need to build smarter and reuse more of the infrastructure we have. The grips they want are the same as we point out, greater flexibility in terms of speed, that we can build motorways to 90 and 100 km / h in addition to 110, higher traffic thresholds to build the large projects and the chance to use narrower four-lane roads .
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More motorway projects may become slim according to the budget agreement – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
