THE ROAD NETWORK IN SWEDEN

Roads are not merely lines of transport, they are the basis of human life, contacts and development. The road network forms the oldest parts of the infrastructure of Sweden. Road building was to begin with a private matter. Those who would benefit from a road connection co-operated to build it. It was often the village community that agreed to build a road. In time a network of roads, or rather bridle paths, developed between villages, royal demesnes, churches and “things” (assembly places). A hierarchical road network was built up consisting of village roads, parish roads, “thing” roads and royal roads (highways).

The Crown attempted in various ways to encourage road building and to establish standards. Magnus Eriksson´s Code of Laws of 1350, for example, laid down that “every man is required to build bridges and clear roads, both those who own little in a village and those who own more, according to their property”.

Road maintenance was the responsibility of the peasants, according to their ownership of land. New road construction was decided on at the parish council meetings and the district “things”. Royal highways and “thing” roads were to be 10 ells (about 6m) wide, while parish and village roads were to be at least 5 ells wide. The peasants fought many a battle over their responsibility for maintaining roads and it was not until 1891 that their obligation in this respect was abolished. Thereafter road maintenance was financed by tax revenue.

A law in 1734 laid down regulations for building bridges and maintaining roads, as well as for the posthorse system and coaching inns. A law concerning snow ploughing was passed in 1790 in the reign of Gustav III. During the first part of the 19th century roads were the responsibility of the Admirality, headed by Baltzar von Platen. Canal-building was still at that time the part of the infrastructure that most interested the government. After long parliamentary debates in which the importance of the road network for a flourishing industry was stressed, The Royal Board for Public Road and Canal Construction was established in 1841. State grants were now paid for building roads. In 1941 the road network was nationalised.

The most rapid development of the length and density of the public road network took place in the 20th century. In 1841 the road network totalled 42,900km. By 1900 it had increased to 54,800km. But it was under the pressure of motor vehicle traffic that the public road network reached its greatest length. In 1920 the total length of roads was 63,700km, in 1940 88,900km and in 1999 98,200km. During the past decade investments in the road network have mainly been aimed at qualitative improvements such as increasing width and load-bearing capacity, replacing ferries with bridges and resurfacing roads with asphalt or concrete.

A knowledge of physical-geographical and cultural-geographical conditions is vital for the understanding of the location of roads in the terrain, the design of the road network, how traffic flows are generated, the choices between different means of transport and the interaction between towns and regions. Roads and the road network are a “system for transportation”. Roads can be seen as components in a complex transport system at several levels, from the lowest level of roads for local transport to the highest level that serves international transportation. Various forms of computer support have begun to grow up in order to deal with the everyday information connected to the transport system. An important component in this context is The National Road Administration´s Road Database (NVDB)

The road network in 1999 totalled 420,000km, which is more than ten times round the earth. The state, the municipalities or private persons are responsible for road maintenance. The state road network is divided into trunk roads and county roads. The county roads are divided into primary, secondary and tertiary roads, of which the primary roads have the most important transport function. The European highways are included in the trunk roads.

There were about 12,600 bridges in the state and state-municipal road network. In addition there were about 3,000 bridges in the private, state-grant-aided network. In the state network the National Road Administration operated ferry traffic with 59 ferries serving 39 crossings. Since 1990 the National Road Administration has been responsible for road maintenance on trunk roads and some primary county roads, including those that pass through towns. Previously it was the municipalities that were responsible for these stretches of road.

In 1990 the maximum permitted gross weight was 60 tonnes for about 90% of the main road network. During a normal spring thaw period about 15,000km of road are restricted for heavy traffic. Reduced loading is only enforced on county roads and is most common in Norrland.

SNA 2002-08-28