BODØ (Nordland newspaper): Around midnight, a decision was made to close the road to all traffic.
The Norwegian Road Traffic Center announced last night that national highway 80 is closed. The road is still closed.
– National highway 80 at Kistrand between Fauske and Bodø is closed due to flooding and risk of landslides, they reported.
– Detour over county road 812 Misvær, they add.
See updated road and traffic reports at vegvesen.no
See hazard maps and warnings at varsom.no
Dangerous conditions
Jonas Johnsen, traffic operator at the road traffic center Northern Norway can state that the national highway was closed at around 11.45pm on Monday evening.
– There was a lot of water moving by and in the direction of the roadway, so for safety reasons we took no chances, says Johnsen.
The Norwegian Road Traffic Agency states that a new assessment will be made closer to 10:00 on Tuesday,
– Geologists will enter the area and make their assessments. There are concerns about large amounts of water and the melting of snow in the area, says Johnsen.
The traffic operator cannot rule out that landslides have already occurred in the area.
– No one has been inside and checked after the road was closed, so we cannot say whether there has been a landslide or not, he says.
Triggered landslide
Just before 09.00, the road traffic center Northern Norway can inform that there has been a landslide. Highway 80 remains closed, and a new assessment is set for 20:00 on Tuesday evening.
– There has been an avalanche containing water, soil and ice. Highway 80 will be closed until tonight, then new assessments will be made after that, says traffic operator Christer Berntsen.
His colleague Kristin Storrø, who is also a traffic operator at Veitrafikksentralen Nord-Norge, can tell you that there has been a big landslide.
– A mudslide of 50-100 meters has crossed the highway. There are several parties inside checking the conditions at the site, including geologists and the road owner, says Storrø.
– Now there will be clean-up work, but first it must be assessed as safe to travel in the area, she adds.
Took no chances
Before the road was closed, several assessments were made, but around midnight the road was closed.
– Our contractor made observations over time, and realized that there was danger on the way. In the end, the contractor did not want to stay in the area, so the concern about landslides is real, says Johnsen.
In the morning, the road traffic center did not say how long the road would be closed, but pointed out that it depends on the geologists’ investigations.
– As of now, it is difficult to say whether the road will be opened or closed for a long time. The detour is via Misvær-veien, and the contractor in that area has been notified and informed of increased traffic. There will be another drive, but good conditions have been reported there, says the traffic operator.
Olav Korsaksel in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration tells AN that they are working continuously and will try to get a drone up so that they can get a good overview of the landslide area.
– We want to get the road opened as soon as possible, but it must be safe. We have had people in the area and will use our prior knowledge to make the right assessments with a view to when it is safe to go back in, says Korsaksel.
Train traffic
Bane Nord’s press officer stated early on Tuesday that Nordlandsbanen is not closed and that the trains are running as normal. That was before the landslide was confirmed.
– We have notified Bane Nord about the landslide, but we do not know if they have made any new assessments related to it, says traffic operator Kristin Storrø.
At 09:30, Bane Nord’s press service had still not heard anything about train traffic between Fauske and Bodø being affected, so the trains will continue to run as normal, according to Bane Nor.
However, Vy reports on its website that two of this morning’s departures with SJ Nord between Fauske and Bodø have been cancelled.
This applies to Bodø-Fauske at 10:12 and Fauske – Bodø at 11:44.
2024-01-09 10:00:05
#Large #landslide #closes #highway #Water #soil #ice
