Government Transport Scheme:- A Scam

– It's a scandal Ringerike Mayor Runer Johansson (H) was very disappointed after learning on Friday that the government did not prioritize the planned tunnel/division from Sandivika to Hønefoss:

The government presented the National Transport Plan for 2025 to 2036.

The fact that the tunnel is not prioritized means that trains between Bergen and Oslo still have to take a major detour via Drammen.

– Passengers can save Close to an hour In the tunnel under construction. But now it's pushed forward in time, probably decades. The construction alone would have taken eight years, Ringerik Meyer says.

Runer Johansson crushed a dream today. Photo: Mats Øieren/Ringerike Municipality

In total, the government plans to spend NOK 1,308 billion. 100 billion is tolls.

But besides the Ringerikspanen, many other big projects have turned out to be failures:

Urban train postponed in Bergen
Hordfast is not prioritized
The tender axis does not reach above
Stage 2 of the new E18 in Asker and Bærum is not available

Bergensbanen today detours through Drammen. A tunnel from Sandvika to Sundvollen, south of Hønefoss, can cut travel time to under an hour. Photo: Description: New Roads / New Roads

– Transport Minister Jan-Iver Nygaard (AP) says that we have had to push through some big projects to ensure that it works across the country.

The National Transport Plan is the government's proposal to spend money on road, rail and shipping over the next twelve years.

The Minister of Transport will use NOK 436 billion for railway projects. This includes dual carriageway to Hamar.

In recent years, the government has tried to play down expectations of them leaving for new transport projects.

– Very disappointing

Already in the 1960s, it took less than seven hours to travel by train between Bergen and Oslo.

Sixty years later, the journey is no longer short, measured in hours – seven in number.

– The most disappointing thing is that the government is now abandoning a wonderful joint project where they should build a road and put together a trail through the mountain. For years, it was planned as a joint project because it was economical, says Ringerike mayor Runar Johansen.

Amidst his disappointment, he admits that at least there will be a direct route to Oslo.

– They have promised a road and it looks like it will come true. It is positive.

He is still marked by the train debacle.

– The project was part of the intercity initiative: Ringeriksbanen. I have documents on that effort, which is slated for completion in 2024. Then they expire.

Sandvika: Today's E18 motorway crosses several bridges at Sandvika in Baram. New plans, now on hold, include a tunnel under the center of Sandivia. Photo: Haljir Vagines / V.G

The new E18 stops at Bærum

According to the National Transport Plan, the government did not find space to continue building the E18 in a tunnel under Sandvika in Bærum.

As a result, motorists will have to use the old concrete bridges that carry the motorway through Sandivika, one of the country's busiest stretches, for years to come.

Projects to be implemented are in the planning portfolio, while ten major projects are called the development portfolio. Among these is the E18's position between Oslo and Oslo, both via Sandvika in Bærum.

NOK 17.4 billion has been spent on the first phase between Lysaker and Ramstadsletta in Bærum.

– We don't have room for everything. We have chosen to move the project to the development portfolio. That doesn't mean the project has been shelved, Transport Minister John Ivor Nygaard tells VG at a press conference about the NDP. He also says that this plan can be included in the plans later.

But Oscar's mayor was not satisfied:

– It will cause major consequences and negative development and will not be viable. We are always concerned about the full implementation of the plan for E18. But — that doesn't mean the road won't come, because it will, says Oscar Mayor Leann Conradie messenger.

Environmental Review

The government needs a majority for the transport project in Storting. Budget partner SV criticizes expenditure on roads.

– This is the transportation plan to get Garcic. We need a plan for the transport sector of the future that takes climate and nature conservation seriously. That's not enough, writes Mona Fajeras, the party's transport policy spokeswoman.

The Nature Conservancy reacts to two concrete road projects.

– We are disappointed that the government's future plan is full of huge highway projects that destroy enormous amounts of nature and facilitate increased traffic. President Truls Glovsen says the new motorways through nature reserves in both the Lagen Delta and the Tørrefjorden are the worst.