Following up my post this morning called “D-Day for Norway’s Transport Infrastructure“, the numbers are out now: The government intends to spend some 320,000,000 NOK ($45,000,000,000) on transport infrastructure over the next 10 years. Will it be enough? This reminds me of a post I had earlier, called “America’s crumbling infrastructure“, where the Minneapolis bridge collapse was a timely wake-up call for America to invest in its infrastructure. Will Norway be able to save its crumbling infrastructure without such a disaster?

Regional and economical development

Efficient infrastructure is a prerequisite for regional and economical development and transportation networks are the main backbone of modern society. Consequently, a well-functioning transportation network is decisive factor not only in terms of market outreach and competition, but also in terms of continuity, to ensure a 24/7 operation of the community we live in.  Are 320,000,000 NOK enough?

So, what will happen to Norway’s main roads in the next 10 years?

As the map shows, in typical Norwegian manner, road investments are distributed more or less evenly across the map. Although the development plan identifies several major transport corridors, there is no all-corridor investment, only point measures here and there.

Links

• Samferdselsdepartementet: Nasjonal Transportplan 2010-2019
• dagbladet.no: Satser på dobbeltspor og europaveier
• aftenposten.no: Det største løfte i moderne tid
• vg.no: Varsler taktskifte i samferdselspolitikken
• nettavisen.no: 60 milliarder i bompenger
• tv2nyhetene.no: Dobbeltspor fra Oslo til Lillehammer
• tv2nyhetene.no: Nasjonal transportplan fylke for fylke
• nrk.no: Dette får ditt fylke