Roads in Norway are in bad shape. Especially regional roads where the counties are responsible for maintenance budgets. Norway’s northernmost county, Finnmark, is in charge of 1,500 kilometers. Finnmark borders both Russia and Finland, two countries where investments in roads now by far exceed the Norwegian budgets.
Kurt Wikan lives in the Pasvik valley close to the Russian border and knows the locality of every bump and pothole in the cross-border road-networks. Driving the Russian road as a tour operator was a real abrasion test in the 90ies. Not so today.
“The roads on the Kola Peninsula are far much better today than only some few years back,” says Kurt Wikan. “It is a paradox that the Russians lay more kilometers of new asphalt on roads in the Murmansk region than we do in the entire northern Norway all together, says the experienced driver.
“The worst wear damage on our vehicles today comes on the roads here in the Pasvik valley on the Norwegian side of the border,” explains Wikan while showing BarentsObserver the poor road up the valley.
Budget data BarentsObserver has gathered from Murmansk and Finnmark counties clearly shows the differences in maintenance priorities on the two sides of the border. The Ministry of Transport and Roads in Murmansk spends 682,4 million rubles (€15,48 million) on maintenance of regional roads in 2013. In Finnmark, the initial plan was to spend NOK 58 million (€7,25 million) on road maintenance , but when approved only NOK 33,5 million (€4,1 million) was made available this year.
More road-kilometers on the Kola Peninsula get new asphalt this summer than in the entire northern Norway. Photo: Thomas Nilsen
Additional investments are granted from Federal budgets to European highways, both in Norway and Russia. In Norway, that goes for E6 near Alta and E105 from Kirkenes to the Russian border. In Russia, Federal funding goes to E105 in Pechenga and on the so-called Leningrad highway south from Murmansk.
The fact that Murmansk spends four times the Finnmark budget on regional roads maintenance is very visible. Asphalt field stations are located all along the regional roads on the Kola Peninsula, while in Finnmark, asphalt is spread around the roads like a patchwork quilt to cover the worst potholes. Finnmark has 1,500 kilometers of regional financed roads. In Russia, there are 2,000 kilometers on the Kola Peninsula where Murmansk region is in charge.
Grethe Ernø Johansen is County Council politician in charge of the roads in Finnmark. She admits that the regional roads have huge challenges. “It is expensive to maintain roads in Finnmark, largely because of the long winter, lots of snow and snow removal,” Grethe Ernø Johansen says to BarentsObserver.
“Road maintenance in Finnmark has large challenges. We have a backlog of nearly NOK 2 billion (€250 million), so it will take some time catch up. The Government has set aside extra money from next year, so then we can get more done,” she tells with a hope.
According to the regional daily Finnmarken, upgrades of the county road in the Pasvik valley will alone cost NOK 400 million (€50 million).
Kurt Wikan frequently drives tourist groups to Murmansk with his minibus.
“The group I drove from Kirkenes to Murmansk last weekend was really surprised. Most Norwegians believe the roads in Russia are much worse than here in Norway. In fact, it’s becoming the other way around,” says Kurt Wikan. He remembers the days when Norway financed road upgrades on the Russian side of the border.
Only a decade ago, tens of millions of kroner in funding from Norway’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs was spent on upgrading the road from Borisoglebsk border check-point towards the town of Nikel, and from Nikel towards the Lotta-road between Murmansk and the border to Finland.
