The power line between Åbjøra in Valdres and Gjøvik was set up 60-70 years ago. And now it has to be replaced. The grid company Eliva is planning a new, more powerful high-voltage line that can produce more power. It will go to industry and households in the Mjø area. On top of the power cables, they will lay a cycle path, connecting from Toten to Fagernes. Exactly where the Valdres line used to go. But it takes up a lot of space. The route is 50 meters wide. TODAY: The power line from Valdres to Gjøvik must be replaced to ensure power supply to the Mjø area. Photo: Inger Johanne Solli / news Care for people and nature A new power line can not be on the same route as the old one. Among other things because the old line must be in use while a new one is being built. Elvia now has three proposals for a new route, which NVE has asked municipalities and organizations to comment on. Ola Tore Dokken is mayor of Nordre Land. As much as 30 km of the new high-voltage line will run through the municipality. And both of the two proposed routes will go close to the municipal center Dokka. While Elvia wants to build a new power line, the mayor will lay it on the ground, along the route to the Valdres line. – NVE and Elvia should take into account both the natural diversity, forestry interests and the interests of the residents, says Dokken. OLD TRACKS: Parts of the old Valdres line are dilapidated and dangerous to pass, says mayor Ola Tore Dokken. Such as this bridge Photo: Inger Johanne Solli Valdresbanen Valdresbanen transports passengers and goods between Eina on Toten and Fagernes in Valdres. Then the Storting decided to close it down. The last passenger train ran in 1988 and the last freight train passed Dokka in 1999. Now there are railway tracks, switch tracks, station buildings and sheds, partly broken and overgrown, as a memory from the old days. Bicycle path all the way to Western Norway Ola Tore Dokken thinks the idea of a bicycle path along the old route is ingenious. And that the power line can be the solution to make it happen. – Imagine cycling continuously on a nice cycle path through beautiful nature from Toten to Valdres. From there you can cycle over to Hallingdal if you want – and so on to Western Norway. The dock envisages that the well-preserved station area on Dokka in the future can be a nice place to stop for cyclists. BICYCLE TRAIL ALONG THE ROUTE: From Fagernes to Leira in Nord-Aurdal, a cycle path has already been laid in the old railway route. Several of the station buildings along the Valdres line are sold to private individuals. But Bane Nor owns the railway itself. The plan is for the municipalities to take over the route. But none of them want to run an old railway. For the sleepers and posts are inserted with creosote, a substance that pollutes and is an environmental problem. Then they would rather get rid of it. Ola Tore Dokken thinks Bane Nor should have talks with Elvia about the proposal to lay the power line in the railway route. Too expensive But putting it on the ground through the winding railway track can make it two to three times more expensive. Project leader Jan Olav Grønvold in Elvia, says the new power line is one of the biggest promises for Elvia in a long time. EXPENSIVE: Project leader in Elvia, Jan Olav Grønvold, says it will be much more expensive to lay the cables in the ground instead of having them in the air. Photo: Knut Røsrud / news According to today’s prices, it will cost between 500 and 600 million kroner. Lisa Vedeld Hammer, section manager in the section for network licenses in NVE, says that the desire for an underground cable instead of an overhead line is something NVE gets in several cases. – We have not taken a position on the input as of today, but we will take it into the assessments further, says Vedeld Hammer. Property manager in Bane Nor, Tove Reine Steinheim Solbakken, says on her page to news that they wait and see what the other parties win, before they do anything. Loses a lot of forest In Nord-Aurdal, forest owner Inger Torun Klosbøle is despairing. The new power line will go through her forest and very close to the garden. She supports the mayors who want to put it on the ground in the old railway line. – I do not want my descendants to have a power line so close to the farm. Valuable cultural monuments can be severely damaged, among them the recently preserved war memorial Bangsbergatn. By laying it on the ground along the railway track, we avoid both, she says. PROTESTING: Inger Torun Klosbøle is a forest owner in Valdres. She protests against having a large power line close to the garden. And she supports the proposal to use the route to the Valdres line. Photo: Inger Johanne Solli / news
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Will lay the power line in the railway route – news Innlandet – Local news, TV and radio
