The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NPRA) is a government agency under the Ministry of Transport and Communications. The NPRA is responsible for the construction and maintenance of Norway's 26,600 km of national roads as well as 27,000 km of county roads. Its employees number approximately 10,500 - of which 540 are employed at the head office in Oslo, the Directorate of Public Roads. The majority are stationed at the NPRA's 19 regional departments, which deal with the planning, construction and maintenance of roads as well as driver examination and vehicle inspection.
The NPRA participates at all levels of road construction and maintenance, with expertise ranging from contracting, project management, contractor evaluation and supervision to research and development (R&D) and the setting of guidelines and standards. The agency plays a major role in the development and improvement of Norway's public transport systems as part of an ongoing effort to optimize the use of the country's road network and to integrate different modes of transport. Much of the modern technology presented in this publication has been developed as a result of R&D contracts between the NPRA, private consultants, equipment manufacturers and contractors. The NPRA has extensive experience as a planner, builder and administrator of a road network that comprises a wide variety of roads and some of the longest bridges and tunnels in the world. This specialized expertise is available for private industry on the international market.
The NPRA is paying more and more attention to the human aspect of road and traffic-related issues. Great emphasis is being placed on the social and aesthetic impact of traffic, especially when designing urban streets and highways that traverse towns and villages. The agency has developed a number of measures to improve the environment along existing roads by reducing the pollution caused by traffic and by using electronic equipment for traffic surveillance and control.
The increasing length and depth of road tunnels currently under planning or construction are likely to generate a new set of psychological reactions among motorists, including distaste, fear, tension and claustrophobia. A research team of psychologists, drama professionals, architects, illumination experts and others are addressing these issues in order to find solutions for reducing such problems. The NPRA wants to create a feeling of well-being and relieve monotony during all the phases of long tunnel journeys.
For additional information, please contact:
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration International Division
PO Box 8142 Dep
N-0033 Oslo, Norway
Tel: +47 22 07 39 00
Fax: +47 22 07 32 65
E-mail: haralj@vegvesen.no
Underground rail tunnels, like this one in Oslo, Norway, are growing in popularity worldwide.
Norwegian engineers, equipment manufacturers and contractors are skilled at meeting nature's challenges.
Norwegian consultancy firms export their rock engineering expertise to countries around the globe. NORPLAN, for example, participated in the construction of the Kihansi power station in Tanzania.
State-of-the-art computerized drilling and boring machinery greatly increase excavation speed, precision and quality.
Norway's prolific bridge building is due in great part to innovations in high-strength, lightweight concrete. It has contributed, in turn, to the development of advanced bridge technology such as form travellers for free cantilever construction and air spinning equipment for suspension bridge construction.
High-quality shotcrete is vital to durable tunnel construction. Norwegian companies supply a wide range of admixtures for all types of shotcrete.
To break up the monotony of the drive through the subsea tunnel of the Oslo Fjord Crossing, the tunnel has been divided into five sequences which give motorists some idea of the distance that they have covered. Decorative lighting has been designed to add colour and pattern to the otherwise dull tunnel walls.