Securing a county road prone to landslides in Stryn
The county road through Oldedalen in Stryn, which is prone to landslides, will be secured with radar that automatically closes and reopens the road.
20 December 2023
Written by Rino Andersen
Cautus Geo is to make the county road through Oldedalen in Stryn avalanche-proof. Radar and lighting systems will be in place in March.
There are many landslide points in Oldedalen. Now three of them will be secured. Cautus Geo will monitor the Heimefonna, Sandvika/Bukkeskora and Kroka landslide courses in a single system. It covers a stretch of 1.6 kilometres along Oldevatnet. Traffic is automatically stopped by lighting systems if landslides are detected.
Vestland County Council has awarded the contract to Cautus Geo. The contract was signed recently. Power supply and groundwork are underway. The plant will be operational before 10 March.
Comprehensive
The setup for Oldedalen is extensive. Two new radars will be put in place. They will automatically and continuously monitor three of the most exposed avalanche paths. Major avalanche events will stop all traffic automatically with lighting systems.
The county road is very busy during the tourist season. In the winter, the volume of traffic drops significantly, but 450 vehicles pass the landslide areas every day. 90 of the vehicles are heavy goods vehicles. Now road users will pass more safely.
- "We're in the process of finalising the groundwork for Cautus Geo to install its system. The aim is to have everything in place before 1 March. So far, we're on schedule," says Kristoffer Eggum Lerum, departmental engineer at Vestland County Council.
Extensive experience
Cautus Geo has been monitoring landslides on Norwegian roads since 2015. Several facilities have been in operation for just as long.
- "We have tried and tested technology that is stable and works," says Lars Krangnes of Cautus Geo.
In February 2020, a similar system saved lives in Lom. Huge masses of snow swept the entire protection system out onto the lake, but first the road was closed by Cautus Web and the automatic lighting system. This prevented motorists from being caught or driving into the avalanche area.
The county road in Oldedalen is the only road connection in and out of the valley. When there is a high risk of landslides, residents are trapped. The road is one of the most vulnerable in Vestland County. Several improvements and safety measures have been carried out in recent years.
