Förbifart Stockholm
Förbifart Stockholm (Stockholm Bypass) is a series of underground
The bypass will become the world's third longest road tunnel in the proximity of a city, after the Westconnex Tunnel in Sydney and the Yamate Tunnel in Tokyo. 140,000 vehicles per day are expected to use the bypass. The tunnel reaches at its deepest point 65 metres below sea level and the lake Mälaren. The projected cost for the project is estimated at 27.6 billion (short scale) SEK (2009 value, around 3.5 billion US dollars or 2.7 billion euros). Construction began in August 2014 but was stopped for political reasons soon after. It was restarted in early 2015 and was then expected to take ten years to complete.
History
The highway has been in the planning stage since 1966, when a regional planning sketch titled Greater Stockholm Physical Structure 2000 (
The road capacity over the relatively narrow passage between
To solve the problem the Road Authority presented in its investigation North-South connections in the Stockholm area 2005 (Nord-sydliga förbindelser i Stockholmsområdet år 2005) three alternatives: Förbifart Stockholm, Diagonal Ulvsunda, and a combined alternative; the Road Authority recommended the first alternative.
The
Arguments supporting the construction of the bypass are the creation of improved road access, reduction of inefficient travelling time, and reduction the load on central parts of Stockholm due to transit traffic. Arguments against construction cite increased
On 19 August 2014, there was a groundbreaking ceremony, led by the minister for infrastructure. However, after the election of September 2014, a new government was elected and they decided on 23 October 2014 to halt the construction (even if contracts with construction companies were signed) for a half-year period in order to debate the project. Soon a decision was made to restart the project, but this political manoeuver delayed the project for half a year.
The extension
The current plan is presented on the website of the Swedish Transport Administration in section Railway and Road → Road Construction Projects → E4 The Stockholm bypass. The highway extension will consist of the following sections:
The South Part
The south part would start from the E4 highway at Kungens Kurva and go underground until the island of Lovön.
Lovön
The highway continues underground to the mainland east of
Grimsta Nature Reserve
The tunnel proceeds under the Grimsta Nature Reserve.
Regional Road 275
The highway would continue underground directly west of Regional Road 275, ending at Akalla.
The North Part
The last part of the highway from Akalla to the E4 south of Häggvik would be above ground.
Completion
In 2009 the project was approved by the Swedish government in September 2009 and construction was expected to start in 2010 and take 8 years to complete.
Criticism
Uppdrag Granskning (Swedish Television)
According to an episode of the documentary program series Uppdrag granskning, titled The most expensive Swedish expressway ("Sveriges dyraste motorväg"), the project will not solve the congestion problem, but instead result in a substantial increase in the use of cars and trucks as means of transportation.[10]
See also
- Maryland Route 200, the InterCounty Connector, a tolled motorway bypass through the northern suburbs of Washington, D.C., USA with some similarities to Förbifart Stockholm which was completed in November 2014.
References
- ^ City 67, page 8
- ^ Stockholms Handelskammare - trafik Stockholm 2001.06.07 s.2
- ^ a b Program "Förbifart Stockholm", page 5
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2010-08-29. Retrieved 2010-06-14.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Ett Sverige för alla – inte bara för de rikaste".
- ^ "Ja till Förbifart Stockholm - DN.se". www.dn.se. Archived from the original on 2009-09-04.
- ^ Stuart Roberts (2009-09-03). "Stockholm traffic bypass gets green light". The Local. Retrieved 2009-09-04.
- ^ "Förlängd byggtid och ökad kostnad för E4 Förbifart Stockholm" [Extended construction time and increased cost for E4 Förbifart Stockholm] (in Swedish). Trafikverket. 2019-11-05. Retrieved 2019-11-05.
- ^ "Sveriges dyraste motorväg". Retrieved 2010-06-14.
External links
- The Light at the End is a Tunnel - Digging the 710 underground is a feasible first step toward relieving freeway congestion (by the Reason Foundation) a proposed motorway tunnel in South Pasadena, California, USA
- Trafikverkets continuously updated information on construction progress
- 2021 article