The stretch of E22 Målbäcken-Gladhammar in Kalmar County is to become a meeting-free road with a central guardrail. But as SVT was able to tell on Wednesday, the Swedish Transport Administration has stopped the construction plans on parts of the route, due to the project becoming more expensive.
The South Swedish Chamber of Industry and Commerce has now together with representatives of OKG and Scania in Oskarshamn written an open letter in protest.
– It is important for us that goods can be transported safely and efficiently, but it is also important for our employees that they can commute to and from work in a safe way, says Peter Magnusson, site manager at Scania in Oskarshamn to SVT.
Hear more about the criticism of the paused road projects in Kalmar county in the clip.
The Swedish Transport Administration: “Will respond”
According to the Swedish Transport Administration, the cost of the project has increased significantly and therefore the construction of the last section has been paused.
– The project now exceeds 100 million and then it must be included in a national infrastructure plan. We can’t just drive on, we have to take into account the limit of SEK 100 million, says Peter Sieurin, community planner at the Swedish Transport Administration.
According to Peter Sieurin, the entire project was already started in 2012, but was delayed for various reasons, which meant that the cost also increased over time.
– We are extremely well aware that E22 is important for southern Sweden, we will respond to the letter, says Peter Sieurin at the Swedish Transport Administration.