Jonathan Thorsen was cycling to the school in Modalen in Western Norway when he discovered the hole in the county road. The hole is so deep that it is not possible to see the bottom. Together with father Tom Kristian Thorsen, they went back Thursday night to investigate it further. Jonathan is 180 centimeters tall, but got plenty of space in the hole. – He wanted to try to get his shoulders down as well. I said that he was not allowed to, says father Tom Kristian Thorsen to news. It was the newspaper Strilen that first mentioned the case. – The county road is too bad The deep hole is on the county road between Helland and Øvre Helland in Modalen municipality. – Such holes are not uncommon in this area, says Thorsen, who chose to notify the locals on Facebook. He also contacted the Norwegian Public Roads Administration. Already 24 hours later, they have been out and marked two holes. 100 meters further up in the valley, they found another deep hole. MARKING: The Norwegian Public Roads Administration went out to mark holes in the road after Tom Kristian Thorsen notified them. Photo: Tom Kristian Thorsen Thorsen was mayor of Modalen from 2015 to 2019. Now he is no longer active in local politics, but the commitment to the roads is there. – The county roads around the country are too bad. Everyone knows that, he says. County Mayor: – Will use this story – On the one hand, such holes should not be there. They occur as sinkholes, and are repaired. On the other hand, this documents the enormous backlog on county roads in Western Norway, which is estimated at approx. 14 billion, says county mayor Jon Askeland (Sp) to news. In the Regional Transport Plan for Western Norway 2022–2033, one of the most important priorities is to stop the major decay of the county road network. Vestland has the largest maintenance backlog in the country. Now Askeland will use Jonathan’s experience, to get more money from the state. – We need more to get more done. Kudos to Jonathan for creative approach to a serious issue. I will use this in the fight to increase funding for our county, he says. THE HOLE IN THE MODAL: This is what the hole on the county road in Modalen looks like up close. Photo: Tom Kristian Thorsen In 2021, the Association of Consulting Engineers (RIF) concluded in a report that Norway needs 3200 billion for maintenance, according to VG. It was on the county roads and on the railway that it was worst. According to the report, 700 billion is needed to upgrade the county roads from condition grade 2, which RIF believes is so poor that the functionality is threatened, to 4. A four means that “the facility has a good standard according to current and future requirements and needs.” COUNTY MAYOR: County mayor in Vestland, Jon Askeland (Sp), says he will use Jonathan’s experience in the fight to increase funding for the county. Photo: Leif Rune Løland Found logs and bog under the road Thorsen explains that the road in Modalen was originally built as a gravel road. Later it has been paved. – That’s why it sinks in some places. A road has been made that was more than good enough in the 50’s, but not good enough now. He goes on to say that some areas were re-asphalted a few years ago. – When they dug away asphalt and gravel, they found logs across a bog. Thorsen adds that new areas will be asphalted this year. Now he hopes for a continuous improvement. – It is annoying to have to swing between all the holes, he says.
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– Such holes are not uncommon – news Vestland
