Over the years, various southern buildings, picnic areas and adapted viewpoints have sprung up along national tourist roads in Norway. In Hardanger, two picnic areas are under construction. At a price tag of almost NOK 60 million. It creates reactions. Among other things because the project is located in an area with poor road standards. – Safe road and good working conditions and facilities for those who have the road as a workplace first, and a design toilet afterwards, says Geir Mo, who is a member of the Norwegian Truck Owners’ Association. – Three toilets On national road 13, just south of Lofthus, you will find the rest area Espenes. A 64-meter-long steel structure is being erected here, which will contain a south-facing building with three toilets. The rest area for the National Tourist Route will be ready at the end of August. And the price tag? 41 million kroner. There are 40 million wives more than what the million do on Sognefjellet on the popular picnic area at Oscarshaug costs. THREE TOILETS: Large steel plates have been welded together into a nine-meter-high south-facing building with three toilets. The rest area will be completed in August. Photo: Tale Hauso / news Have a bad taste – We think travelers have more benefit from a place to stop and a toilet that works and is clean, all year round, rather than a steel construction from China that is nice to look at, says Geir Mo in The Truck Owners’ Association. He adds that the project does not belong in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration’s budget, but should rather be under the Ministry of Trade and Industry, which is responsible for tourism. NEW: This is what the drawings of the new picnic area at Espenes look like. There is parking for buses and cars. And tables and benches that people can use. Illustration: Code Arkitektur NOK 17 million If we travel to Kvam, in a small bay outside Ålvik by the Hardangerfjord, the picnic area Tyrvefjøra has been given a toilet like no other. The German couple Elisabeth and Alfred Grotke have taken the trip to the newly opened picnic area. The tipping plant has cost about one million Norwegian kroner. When they learn that the answer is NOK 17 million, they gasp in unison. – Oh, it was very expensive. They think the place is beautiful and that the architecture is stylish, but I think the most important thing is that the picnic areas are tidy and have clean toilets. The German couple Elisabeth Grotke and Alfred Grotke use the new picnic area. They think it is stylish, but expensive. Photo: Tale Hauso / news – An attraction – I think there is too much money to spend on a picnic area. It is stylish, but it is not worth 17 million kroner, says Jarle Garen from Ålvik. The building is made of 70 pine trunks that stand upside down and hold a concrete roof with gravel and pebbles. – I think it was very nice. It is expensive, but I understand that they have set aside money for such magnificent toilets, says Gerd Mo from Ålvik. Yarn disagrees. – I mean that the money comes from the community’s funds, says Garen. He is excited to see how many people will stop at the new facility. – If it becomes a sensational tourist attraction, then it would have been cool then, he adds. Many had taken the trip to see the opening of the new picnic area for the National Tourist Route. Photo: Tale Hauso / news 164 projects completed So far In a couple of years, there will be over 200 installations along the 18 tourist roads in Norway. To date, the investment has cost just over NOK 4.2 billion. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration is convinced that the investment will give far more in kroner and øre for the tourism companies along the vegans and the tourism industry in general. – We see that the tourist road investment contributes to increased profitability among companies along the stretches, in addition to strengthening the reputation internationally with the use of modern architecture in magnificent nature, says Per Ritzler, press manager at National Tourist Roads. Per Ritzler in the National Tourist Route. Photo: Tale Hauso / news Not just a toilet National Tourist Route understands that there are questions about spending money. – It is natural with reactions to attractions such as Espenes and Tyrvefjøra which are both prototypes that have not been built before. But it is so much more than just a toilet, says Ritzler. He replies that the money had not been used for road improvements, for example. – We have our very own budget to develop the attractions, says Ritzler. – But the money that goes to national tourist roads comes from the same money bag from the state? – It is the government’s budget negotiations that decide. Then we get faith and hope that the ministry has full control over how the money should be distributed.
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The picnic areas in Hardanger cost almost NOK 60 million – news Vestland
