– Before the road was built, it was very quiet and good to live here. After they started digging, everything was destroyed.
This is what Gunn Signy Gustu says, one of nine homeowners who this autumn demanded 3.7 million in noise compensation from the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
The reason was a lot of traffic noise from the new national road 3/25, which passes her house on Løten on Hedmarken. However, after Østre Innlandet District Court has dealt with the case, all claims for compensation have been rejected.
With one exception. Gustu gets a new spruce tree, which will replace the tree that was destroyed by the construction work during the development.
It was Østlendingen who first mentioned the case.
“Koala massacre” shocking
– Terrible
Gustu himself tells Dagbladet that the conclusion is ridiculous, and that it is now absolutely awful to live along the road.
– Those who have built the road do not care about our quality of life. It goes beyond our night’s sleep, and neither now nor during the development was it possible to sit outside in the summer, the homeowner claims.
She also says that she has considered selling the house.
– I want to, but I think I will not get as much back as what I gave, so then it will be difficult.
Project manager at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Arne Meland, denies that they do not care about the quality of life of Gustu and the neighbors.
– We do, but we do not want to take that discussion in the media, he says in a short comment to Dagbladet.
He elaborates that the discretionary court states that the Norwegian Public Roads Administration has followed the current state guidelines for noise calculations and noise shielding
– We take note of the district court’s decision, Meland says.
Suddenly this fell from the ceiling
Considering appeal
The court’s conclusion states that the threshold is high to be able to receive compensation as a result of the development of a new motorway.
Lawyer Terje Hensrud, who represents the landowners who demanded compensation, says Østlendingen that they are now considering appealing the case:
– No, there was no compensation. The court finds that it has not been proven that the limit values for noise have been exceeded. The result of the court’s treatment was not as expected. I will now carefully review the decision, and within the deadline of one month, I will together with the landowners consider whether we should appeal, says Hensrud to the newspaper.
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