Trafikverket: The E22 chaos difficult to prevent

The blockage of the E22 which led to thousands of people being stuck in the cold for many hours without help was difficult to prevent, according to the Swedish Transport Administration.

– This is the climate condition we have in Sweden, says press manager Bengt Olsson.

How could it go this bad?

– It is a complex issue. This is not something that an authority can solve before the snow and wind have started to move in and have an effect. No one knows in advance where exactly it will strike. We had a dialogue with SMHI and went out both via radio and television and said that now there will be problems – be careful, think about whether you should go out.

– Then there was this accident on the E22 when a lorry laid down and blocked the entire road. What then happens is that there will be other road users who think it works well to drive, but then they will be left behind. With the snow and the slip that was there, it was not possible to remove the truck. It filled up and quickly became a long, long queue and none of those who got stuck could get off.

Couldn’t they have blocked the traffic and prevented more and more people from getting stuck?

– There are many access roads leading to the E22. It’s not a road to shut down, but in that case it’s half a region. Doing it like that bang boom is a challenge. We have not worked in that way before in Sweden.

Unusual event

How rare is this event?

– I have been part of it four times in Sweden since 2010.

Couldn’t you have put in more plows?

– There wasn’t a plow truck that arrived in this area. It is the police and emergency services that first try to reach these vehicles and try to direct the traffic. They become our eyes and ears in managing it. The operational decisions are taken by the operations leader in the rescue service.

Should we then just say that “this is what happens”?

– In our country, it is winter and I think there is a lack of familiarity with the fact that it can become this difficult very quickly. We have public transport, which took a lot of time in the past. We handle it today, by not letting traffic that risks getting stuck somewhere on the line go.

– Things like this don’t happen as often on the side of the road. But it’s a difficulty – we don’t get hold of those who sit behind the wheel, but it’s private individuals or professionals who make their own decisions there and then.

The salt did not bite

What was so special about the weather in this case that made it go so badly?

– It is the combination of strong wind and heavy snowfall, plus the road had frozen during the night and the salt had not started working properly on the road. It was very slippery and a lot of snow and when the plow trucks had plowed once, it was brisk again and there was just as much snow again.

So you mean that no one has done anything wrong here?

– There will certainly be things we have to learn from this, not least the coordination between the authorities that are set to work with this crisis situation.