He calls it one of the biggest road projects in Norway, Henry Damman in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. Seven miles of four-lane motorway with a speed limit of 110 km/h. Through the municipalities of Bokn and Tysvær in Rogaland, and further through the municipality of Sveio in Vestland. All part of the ferry-free connection between Stavanger and Bergen on the E39 in Western Norway. At one end, the several-mile-long undersea tunnel Rogfast, which is under construction and will be completed in 2033. It removes one ferry connection. At the other end, the controversial Hordfast project. – Hordfast is the game changer. And when you get Rogfast in addition, it will generate an extremely large amount of traffic in the future, Damman believes. Work on the longest underwater tunnel in the world is already underway. It will shorten the travel time between Bergen and Stavanger, but at the same time increase traffic. Photo: Kaj Hjertenes / news Bygd gets a motorway Too many intersections, traffic jams and poor standards. This is the current standard on large parts of the E39 between Bergen and Stavanger. Therefore, the National Roads Administration believes that it is necessary to upgrade to a four-lane motorway between the two cities. The same standard as the new E39 Svegatjørn-Rådal between Os and Bergen, which will open in the autumn of 2022. According to the plan, this road will run the whole way between Bergen and Stavanger. This stretch will open in the autumn of 2022. Photo: Varde Film/Statens vegvesen – This is about traffic safety, says Damman, who is head of planning at the Statens vegvesen. Plans can be completely reversed in the municipality of Sveio, where today around five thousand cars pass through the village of Førde on the E39. 35 years from now, more precisely in 2060, traffic volumes may more than triple. Estimates indicate a traffic volume of between 15,000 and 18,000 cars a day through the sleepy village. About 5,000 cars pass through the E39 in Førde in Sveio today. It could triple by 2060. Photo: Olav Røli / news Put more houses under asphalt There are just as many cars that pass through several counting points on the E18 in Vestfold every day. – These are absolutely enormous numbers, says mayor of Sveio municipality, André Mundal Haukås (H). And that triggers demands for a four-lane road. The planning alone will put restrictions on large areas in many municipalities. E39 Bokn-Bømlafjorden 67 kilometers of new road through the municipalities of Bokn, Tysvær and Sveio. Today, the Norwegian Public Roads Administration believes that there are too many intersections and turn-offs. on the stretch. The new road is planned with four lanes, and a speed limit of up to 110 km/h. On this stretch alone, driving time will be reduced by 30 minutes with the new road. The project is part of a new and ferry-free road between Bergen and Stavanger. The stretch is now in a planning phase. Construction could start after 2033, and he could be finished in 25 to 30 years. Source: Norwegian Public Roads Administration Both farmers and landowners are worried about the future. – One wants people to move in, but I don’t know if they will get people to move in if they are going to lay asphalt over both my house and many others’ houses, says Lars Andreassen. He lives in Middagshaugen in Sveio, in the middle of the planned route, and can have his house and his family put under asphalt. – Three families with children in the same neighborhood can get the road over the house, he says. Lars Andreassen is one of many who may have their house laid under asphalt in the future. Photo: Olav Røli / news I think the pace needs to slow down Bjørne Grimsrud, managing director of the Transport Economics Institute (TØI), thinks it is wrong to plan the way the National Road Administration is now doing between Bergen and Stavanger. – We cannot rely on too much growth if we are to reach the climate targets. The Norwegian Road Administration uses a historical projection of car traffic as a basis, he says. Grimsrud, who previously worked in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, does not wish to comment on individual projects. But he believes that road projects, such as a ferry-free road between Bergen and Stavanger, must be looked at with new eyes in line with the climate objectives. – Projects like Hordfast will contribute to a lot of new traffic, Grimsrud believes. In the future, a ferry-free road between Bergen and Stavanger is planned. It will greatly increase traffic volumes in the municipalities that lie in between. Photo: Olav Røli In the last 30 years, car traffic in Norway has increased by over 60 percent, according to Kjell Werner Johansen, researcher at TØI. This is linked to economic growth and increasing prosperity, and population growth. The public meeting ran out of seats And traffic growth doesn’t seem to be stopping. – On the one hand, you build a motorway, on the other hand you want to limit car traffic. In sum, it is not appropriate, he believes. – What will it take for more people to give up their cars? – In cities, restrictive parking and increases in tolls have had an effect. But one has also seen that economic downturns, such as we had at the beginning of the 90s, caused a decline in car traffic. This is hardly something we want, says the researcher at TØI. At a public meeting about the new E39 at Førde community center on Tuesday this week, so many residents came that they ran out of chairs. Many were worried about the feasibility of the project. – The biggest problem with this road is that he comes all the way. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration operates with projections of historical figures. Now are new times, and most things have been destroyed on this planet, says Roald Østensjø of the Nature Conservation Association in Haugalandet. The community center in the village of Førde in Sveio was full when the Swedish Road Administration held an information meeting about the new E39. Many will find their way through the yard. Photo: Olav Røli / news Road Administration: The last road we are building here Henry Damman in the Road Administration believes that one must look at the prerequisites for the road, and put in what social benefit it should have, among other things for the labor market and business in Western Norway. – We have used conservative calculations as a basis for the traffic development. There is nothing in our analyzes that says that car traffic will decrease, he says. Among other things, he pointed to the E6 north of Trondheim, where large-scale development of a 30-year-old road is now planned. The reason: The road has too little capacity, according to Damman at the public meeting. – I want to avoid this. Now we are building the last road here, which will take account of the traffic development, he says. At a car park on the municipal border between Rogaland and Vestland, Ragnar Bøe has a short stop on his journey between Bergen and Jæren. We don’t need a new motorway between Bergen and Stavanger, believes Ragnar Bø, who drives a semi-trailer. Photo: Olav Røli / news A section that today takes over five hours, and has two ferries. In the future, the time may drop to less than three hours. – The plans are very big. You don’t need a new four-lane road in any case. Not with the traffic volumes that are here, he believes. Hello! Do you have any thoughts after reading this case, or would you like to advise us about similar or other cases. Send me an email.
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Plan a four-lane motorway through several municipalities – news Vestland
