The E105 road between Kirkenes and the Norwegian-Russian border crossing at Storskog has for several years been criticized for its poor condition. It is the only road connection between Norway and Russia, and thus an important route for transportation of goods and people between the two countries.
With the government’s presentation of Norway’s NTP for the next nine years, this road will finally be upgraded. According to the plan, the government will grant 34 million EUR to the project. The government granted last fall granted 650.000 EUR for planning the new road and it is expected that construction work will start soon. However, manager of the regional road authorities declines to comment on the issue to newspaper Finnmarken.
The government will also consider to build a new customs station on the border to Russia, the plan reads. Also the need to improve cross-border transportation routes to Sweden and Finland is highlighted, and parts of this is planned conducted in line with the priorities of the Northern Dimension Partnership on Transport.
As BarentsObserver reported yesterday, also the Kirkenes Airport will be significantly extended to handle bigger aircrafts and more goods.
With regard to sea transport, the plan especially highlights the role of the Barents Euro-Arctic Transport Area cooperation, as well as the Northern Dimension Transport Partnership.
Norway’s Minister of Transport and Communications, Liv Signe Navarsete, said that there will be a significant change in the government’s efforts to improve road standard in the north.
− In addition to the efforts on Norwegian roads, we will improve the road connections to our neighboring countries, says Navarsete.
The main road in northern Norway, the E6, is also of poor quality in several areas. Therefore the government will spend several million EUR over the next years to reconstruct and upgrade the standard of this road all over the country.
