See interview with transport minister Jon-Ivar Nygård:
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AKERSGATA, OSLO (Nettavisen): Through a number of articles, Nettavisen has discussed Norway’s most dangerous stretch of road, the E16 between Skaret and Hønefoss in Viken, which tops the grim statistics with nine fatal accidents and 34 injuries in the last ten years.
For 30 years, the local population has been waiting for a new road, but last year the joint project Ringeriksbanen and new E16 was once again postponed. This causes the mayors along the road to rage against Transport Minister Jon-Ivar Nygård (Ap).
– I do not trust the Minister of Transport. When you are at meetings and try to explain the situation, but get neither a hearing nor a response, it is so bad, said Ringerike mayor Kirsten Orebråten (Ap) to Nettavisen on Wednesday.
Until now, the transport minister has been tight-lipped about the heavy accident road, but now he is responding to the criticism.
– It is a very important stretch of road, and we are well aware that there is a need for improvements, says the minister, who receives Nettavisen at his office in the Ministry of Transport.
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– Does not characterize
For a number of years, the mayors of the municipalities along the accident-prone E16 stretch have been calling for a start for the project, which connects Sandvika and Hønefoss.
– I think I clearly share the perception of being frustrated, said Labor mayor Morten Lafton in Jevnaker municipality, and noted that the project has been “completely chewed and spit out, chewed and spit out and chewed and spit out”.
– Several local politicians, including several Ap mayors, say that they do not have confidence in you as transport minister because of your handling of this matter. What do you think about it?
– I have no need to engage in any characterization of their way of expressing themselves here. I think that as local mayors they have a legitimate right to constantly work for their projects, replies Nygård, and at the same time emphasizes:
– Then I have to look at the total. I have to prioritize among all projects.
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– But several say that they have not experienced being met with understanding, and that the dialogue with you and the ministry has been poor. What do you have to say to them?
– I have no need to give any comments or characteristics about it. They must be able to express themselves freely and say what they want in such a matter, and they do, he says of the criticism.
Norway’s most dangerous road
Through a number of cases, Nettavisen has surveyed and put a spotlight on traffic safety on the E16 between Sandvika and Hønefoss. These are the cases:
– Must hold back
The disappointment is particularly great locally since the Labor Party went to the polls in 2021 to start the construction of the Ringeriksbanen and E16 in 2022. The Minister of Transport still believes it was right to step on the brakes.
– At a time when we had to hold back for reasons of our joint finances and situation, it was right to push some projects forward, he says in the interview.
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– You voted for the start of the project in 2022. That promise has been broken. What do you have to say to the voters who voted for you with that in mind?
– After all, I relate to the Hurdal platform, and will deliver on it. We have assumed that this project is important, and therefore we have said that we will go ahead with it, says Nygård, and adds:
– Then we will return to the prioritization of this project in connection with the new National Transport Plan which will be presented in 2024.
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He also points out that the backdrop, with war in Europe, the energy crisis and rising prices, has changed the premise a lot since the election.
– The world looks completely different in 2023 than it did when the election campaign took place in 2021. We have had to hold back and push several large projects so that they do not contribute to further pushing up interest rates and prices, says the minister.
– Understands it well
Originally, the governing parties, the Labor Party and the Center Party, wanted to split up the joint project Ringeriksbanen and E16. But after negotiations with SV, it was decided that it will still be a joint project for rail and train.
Nygård says he understands that the commitment is so great locally.
– I have been a local politician myself, so I understand very well that there is a great commitment to local issues, he says.
– What will you do to regain trust and to make this accident-laden road safe?
– We will of course make our assessments of the project in connection with the National Transport Plan, as the Storting has now asked us to do, says Nygård.
– Can you make any promises to the mayors that E16 will be prioritized, and that money will come to the road soon?
– No, we relate to the fact that the Storting has now asked us to make assessments of this project as a joint project in connection with a National transport plan to be presented in 2024, he says.
This is Norway’s most dangerous stretch of road
- E16 between Sandvika and Hønefoss: Nine fatal accidents and 34 seriously injured. All fatal accidents have occurred between Skaret and Hønefoss.
- RV555 between Bergen and Kolltveit: Six dead and 13 seriously injured.
- Ring 2 in Oslo between Grünerløkka and Frogner: Four dead and 31 seriously injured.
- County road 170 between Gran and Mork: Six dead and two seriously injured.
- E6 between Verdal and Ramberg: Five dead and seven seriously injured.
- Highway 7 between Gol and Ål: Five dead and six seriously injured.
- Highway 7 between Gulsvik and Lindelia: Five dead and three seriously injured.
- County road 3430 between Rjukan and Miland: Five dead, two seriously injured.
- E18 between Oslo and Ringnes: Four dead and 15 seriously injured.
- National highway 4 between Gjøvik and Redalen: Four dead and eight seriously injured.
Source: Overview from the Norwegian Road Administration from 2012 to 2021. The fatal accidents on the E16 between Sandvika and Hønefoss have been updated with figures from 2022.
– It is disturbing
Nye Veier, which has been commissioned to build the road, has pointed out that the E16 is economically profitable to build. In addition, it will potentially cost several hundred million kroner to further delay the start of construction.
– Why does the government think it is wise to wait to start construction, taking this into account?
– Now it is the Storting that has asked us to look at this project in connection with the National Transport Plan in 2024, so we are dealing with that, Nygård repeats.
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In addition, figures Nettavisen has seen show that there have been many fatal accidents on the road, a total of 9 people have died and 34 have been seriously injured on the stretch between 2012 and 2022.
– Do these accident figures strike a chord with you?
– All accident figures are worrying for a transport minister, and it has been a year now that we have put behind us where there have been more accidents than ever, and of course we have to work on that, he says.
118 people died in traffic in Noge in 2022, which is an increase from 80 deaths in the previous year.
