Extensive repairs are currently underway to the state road network around the country, affecting long stretches from Skåne up to Jämtland.
On county road 172 between Dalsland and Värmland, excavator operator Lars Gustafsson has had a rough day.
– The situation was urgent after the downpour, so I had to drop everything else I was doing. Now we have been four excavators here for three weeks and we have a while more to do, he says.
Risk of hidden damage
In Värmland, Jämtland, Dalarna, Småland, Skåne and Västmanland, among others, storm Hans and the torrential rains that followed in the weeks that followed caused extensive damage to the national road network.
At the moment, measures are required on at least 16 major roads, according to the Swedish Transport Administration, and the risk is that that number will grow when all flooded sections have been checked for non-visible damage.
In addition to the road network, the railway also needs to be reviewed in several places, including outside Hudiksvall. In total, the Swedish Transport Administration estimates that their additional costs for the downpours will be between SEK 60 and 100 million.
– We always have a preparedness for something like this to happen, but not to this extent, says Bengt Olsson, press manager at the Swedish Transport Administration, who does not want to say whether the authority will request extra money to cope with the repairs.
– It remains to be seen, we won’t know where this will land until the turn of the year, says Bengt Olsson.
Planned road works are delayed
Only by the end of the year does the Swedish Transport Administration expect all checks and measures to be completed. But regardless of what the price tag for the rainfall lands on, other maintenance of our roads and railways will be affected.
– Planned works will be carried out, but they may be postponed. We have a pot of money to work with and we usually don’t get more, so then we have to redistribute, says Bengt Olsson.