The road under the government quarter is to be secured against terrorism and lowered. At most, traffic on Ring 1 will go ten meters further underground than today. The Hammersborg tunnel and the Vaterland tunnel will be closed from spring 2024 and three years from now. This means that the traffic will flow elsewhere. Many residential streets that are not built to withstand through traffic are affected. – Could collapse Fredensborgveien is one of the streets where a sharp increase in traffic is predicted. – It will be absolutely terrible. If measures are not taken, the road network will potentially collapse, says resident Christoffer Olsen Nyhus. He fears more accidents, especially because the road is also a popular cycling route. The residents of the area are also afraid that the historic buildings could be damaged by vibrations from heavy traffic. – In addition, there will be more noise and more air pollution, says another neighbour, Audhild Svela, who represents Bergfjerdingen Vel. – I can’t actually imagine how much traffic there will be, and how it is possible to put Ring 1 traffic into the neighborhood streets here, she says. Christoffer Olsen Nyhus is also an active MDG politician in the district of St. Hanshaugen. CLOSED FOR THREE YEARS: Call 1 closed for three years between Pilestredet and Oslo Plaza. The Hammersborg tunnel is to be lowered, among other things. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news Operatunnelen A traffic analysis carried out by consulting company Sweco for Statsbygg confirms the residents’ fears. According to calculations in the report, over 17,000 cars drive through the Hammersborg Tunnel a day. There are more than over the Svinesund Bridge. The opera tunnel will have to take a lot of the brunt. But thousands of cars will also find their way to the surface. Large areas will be affected. There will be increased traffic, more congestion and a greater risk of accidents. With more traffic on the city streets, there is a greater risk of accidents involving soft road users. Streets where traffic is already at a standstill today will be affected. Emergency services, goods transport and public transport will have poorer accessibility. This happens when the tunnels on Ring 1 close On behalf of Statsbygg, the consulting company Sweco has carried out a traffic analysis of what happens when the Vaterlandstunnelen and Hammersborgtunnelen on Ring 1 close. Here are some of the findings: Much of the traffic from Ring 1 will be transferred to the E18 Opera tunnel. This will result in more traffic on ramps and the rest of the road network in Bjørvika and Vika. Here there are stagnant queues and poor handling during peak periods today. With even more traffic in the city center area, a significant increase in delays must be expected. It will particularly affect Langkaia, Operagata and Dronning Eufemias gate in Bjørvika and Haakon VII’s gate, Dronning Mauds gate and Munkedamsveien in Vika. In the bus routes, the buses will be stuck. Traffic from Ring 1 is expected to find local bypasses that are not suitable for handling through traffic. This will also result in more traffic in residential streets. Streets that are mentioned in particular are Hausmanns gate, Rosteds gate, Calmeyers gate, Maridalsveien, Uelands gate, Fredensborgveien, Thor Olsens gate, Akersgata, Ullevålsveien, Pilestredet and Nordahl Bruns gate. Increased traffic will cause increased environmental disadvantages in the form of noise and air pollution for those who live and travel along these streets. There are poor ground conditions in the area, and large vehicles passing will cause the buildings to shake. Ring 2 is expected to see an increase in traffic along large parts of the stretch between Skøyen and Carl Berners plass. More traffic on the city streets increases the likelihood of accidents involving soft road users. Accessibility for the emergency services becomes worse when they are also directed to streets with a lower standard. Source: Traffic analysis RKV – Traffic consequences for the construction period (Sweco). – Armageddon – If these analyzes are correct, it will affect large parts of the city, and especially the city within Ring 3. This is what Divisional Director Rune Gjøs of the Urban Environment Agency in Oslo Municipality says. He is responsible for the municipal road network and thus gets the problems right in his lap. DRAMATIC: The Ring 1 closure may affect many, but mitigating measures are possible, says Rune Gjøs. Photo: Olav Juven / news – This could potentially affect many hundreds of thousands of people over a three-year period. This has quite dramatic consequences for Oslo as a city. – Will there be chaos? – Yes, if the analyzes are correct, it will be Armageddon, he says. Haster Rune Gjøs quickly adds that road users will adapt. It doesn’t have to be as bad as feared. He refers to when the tunnels in Oslo were closed for rehabilitation one by one. Even then, many believed that the traffic system would collapse. But there was no chaos. And it is possible to limit the harmful effects, according to Gjøs. Ring 1 will be closed between Pilestredet and the roundabout at Oslo Spektrum. The Norwegian Environment Agency envisages protecting residential areas by regulating traffic in other ways. Physical works such as strengthening roads and rebuilding junctions are also relevant. These are things that both take time and cost money. With only one year left until Ring 1 closes, the rush is on. – We would like to wish that the Swedish Road Administration had been much, much more involved and that we had come much, much further in planning the mitigating measures, he says. BJØRVIKA: In central Oslo, there will be more traffic in Vika and Bjørvika. Dronning Eufemias gate is singled out as one of the worst streets. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news – The state must pay Rune Gjøs reminds that the new government quarter is a state project. The rebuilding of Ring 1 is the same. But the state’s projects cause major problems on the municipal road network. A conflict has now arisen over who will pay for the measures that must be put in place to limit the problems. – Oslo municipality believes that it is the state that is responsible for both planning and financing mitigation measures, he says. He goes on to say that Oslo municipality and the Urban Environment Agency will of course contribute to planning and implementing the measures. Safety is the argument Despite the disadvantages, Statsbygg defends the project and argues with certainty. – The rebuilding of the Ring 1 tunnel at Hammersborg is required to ensure the necessary security for the new government quarters, and has been decided in the Storting, says communications manager Pål Weiby. UNDERWAY: Construction of the new government quarter at Hammersborg is in full swing. Photo: Rolf Petter Olaisen / news The Swedish Road Administration is working to assess where the detour routes should go and how preparedness for, among other things, emergency services is ensured. – We are planning information for road users ahead of the closure, so that they can choose alternative forms of transport and routes, says project manager Elin Hermanstad Havik. According to the Swedish Roads Administration, the municipality has to rely on looking up the measures. – It is not planned for the state to take on costs outside the planning area. We are still considering contributing with some traffic safety measures, says Havik.
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There could be traffic chaos in the streets of Oslo when Ring 1 closes – news Oslo and Viken – Local news, TV and radio
