“If there’s one more bump in the road, it’s flat again,” says an old Southern proverb.
If we are to believe taxi driver Roger Skog (47), the proverb applies to the northern part of the country as well, especially the municipality of Ibestad in Drams.
– The standard is simply pathetic, Skog tells Dagbladet.
Every day working on the car is a day of fearing damage to the taxi.
– You feel it in your body. It’s a nuisance, says the driver, while passengers also notice potholed roads in the municipality.
– You drive old people, even though we have great cars, they sit and jump and shake. Passengers don’t understand.
Sufficient: Taxi driver Roger Schock had sufficient roads in his own municipality. Photo: Private
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So he took matters into his own hands – to great engagement on the local Facebook page. A public meeting will be held in Ibestad Municipality on Thursday evening. Theme Road.
– Shivering to death
It was In Harstadt It first mentioned the popular uprising against the district roads.
Avisa has spoken to the ambulance service, which fears the Ibestats road network.
– There are big potholes on the road. This affects the health of both the patients and those of us who work in the ambulance. Even driving within the speed limit is impossible. Doing so puts patients at risk of convulsions and death, station coordinator Jim Christiansen told the newspaper.
Ibestad Mayor Dag Sigurd Brustind (H) gives full support to Skog and Kristiansen.
– They’ve never been as bad as they are now, and it’s only going to get worse. In many places in the 80 zone you have to stop completely to pass the holes. A unanimous City Council has sent a report and several long letters have been sent regarding the condition of the streets. This is the result of a delay of 30 to 40 years. Mayor says traffic safety is at risk In Harstadt.
– It will be more expensive
– Damn it
– If you try to avoid one hole, you’ll hit another. You don’t want to quit your job, says taxi driver Skog, who estimates he drives 70,000 kilometers a year professionally.
He tells Talkblade that it’s not just the taxi industry that suffers from poor road conditions.
– A few days ago, my partner drove to Harstad to pick up the ferry. Then she broke a rim. I need to buy four new rims. In total, he estimates it will cost me NOK 30,000.
Expensive: Roads in Ibestat can be an expensive affair, says Roger Schock. Photo: Private.
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He believes that the quality of roads also hinders business development.
– We have another industry in Ibestat, salmon slaughter. Then you have four or five semi-trailers weighing 40, 50 tonnes crushing the road. “It’s very important that we get this in place,” says Skog.
A promising taxi driver believes things will pick up after tonight’s public meeting. According to Skok, representatives of both the municipality and the district council should stand up.
– Money is there, it’s just a choice. He says about the quality of roads.
– Immediate action
Troms and Finnmark County Municipality head of infrastructure, Øyvind Strømseth, tells Dagbladet that the county municipality has started immediate steps to improve the road network.
– We know the challenges facing the road network in the municipality of Ibestad. We are conducting immediate operations 24 hours a day – and will continue tonight. We take people seriously. We stand at the public meeting with the signed and political representatives, says Stromseth.
The head of the department also pointed out that the district council has taken loans to improve the road network.
– We started the so-called county road lift for two billion. We are in our second year – it will last five, six years, he says with a message to Loewebakken:
– We are of the opinion that the government will come up with special provisions to deal with the backlog in the district road network.
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