– Leave the car and take home office on Friday, if you can, urges the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
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The snowy weather started on Thursday evening, which has caused problems for motorists and other travelers last night and Friday morning.
Strong winds and large amounts of snow are expected in several parts of the country on Friday. This has resulted in several traffic accidents to date. The police report on Twitter at 07:00 that a car has ended up on the roof of the E18 in Asker. This has happened in the direction of Oslo. The extent of the damage is unknown. E18 is partially closed because of it. The traffic passes in single file, the police report at 07.12. The accident has created several kilometers of queues behind.
A few minutes later, it was reported that four cars were involved in a rear-end collision in Hønefoss. The extent of the damage is currently unknown.
At 07.40 a collision between a bus and a car was reported in Bekkenstenveien in Grorud. The driver of a car complains of back pain. Major damage to the car has been reported. The road was cleared and open to traffic again at 08.00.
Bergensbanen was closed between Hallingskeid and Myrdal due to a snow avalanche. The storm delays the clearing work. There was a message about it at 05:30. According to TV2, the track was reopened at 07.30.
The collapse affected the regional train between Bergen, Voss and Myrdal, as well as the train between Bergen and Oslo.
Slow down and don’t take any chances
Just before 07:00, the East Traffic Center was able to report that traffic on the main roads is moving without major problems.
– It was salted and plowed last night, but there is a lot of slush on the roads. This creates challenging driving conditions. It should go well if you slow down a bit, says Nils Jacob Aae.
He is a traffic operator at Vegtrafikksentralen.
– How does the amount of traffic compare to a normal Friday?
– It looks quite normal. It is starting to get congested on the roads towards Oslo, Aae replies.
The Sørøst police district also encourages drivers to take the weather into account: Reduce your speed and don’t take any chances. Drive considerately and cautiously, they write on Twitter.
Moved out to crash
At 03:00 last night, the police and volunteers moved out following a report of two avalanches over highway 13, north-east of Stavanger.
There is no information that vehicles or people have been caught in the landslide. The conditions at the site are challenging, the police write on Twitter. The road is closed between Håra and Nesflaten.
Varsom.no has sent out a red danger warning for avalanches and an orange danger warning for snow more places. In addition, a yellow danger warning has been issued for gusts of wind in Rogaland and Hordaland.
Wind gusts of 30–35 m/s are expected on the coast and 27–30 m/s in inland areas.
It is expected that Friday will be demanding on the roads in Agder, Vestfold and Telemark.
The Norwegian Public Roads Administration has a clear call for road users who plan to set out on a journey in the next 24 hours:
– Leave the car and stay at home tonight and take home office tomorrow, if you can, says Rudi Malmo in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.
Closed mountain passes
On Friday morning, most of the mountain passes in southern Norway are closed or have queues due to bad weather.
At 6 o’clock on Friday morning, both national highway 7 over Hardangervidda, national highway 13 Vikafjell, as well as county highway 50 Aurland-Hol, county highway 51 Garli – Bygdin i Vang/Øystre Slidre and county highway 53 Tyin-Årdal are closed due to the storm, according to the National Road Administration.
There is a convoy on national highway 52 Hemsedalsfjellet.
E16 Filefjell, E134 Haukelifjell and highway 15 Strynefjell are open to traffic. The latter section may be closed at short notice.
At 07.30, national highway 9 Hovden – Haukeli was also opened to traffic.
In addition, there are sometimes very demanding driving conditions on a number of other sections. The situation is changing fast, and the Norwegian Road Administration updates the situation on its website.
Ruter warns – fears new chaos in Oslo
Nor does the capital escape the snowy weather. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute has issued a yellow warning about snow in Oslo and Viken.
It happens a few days after the heavy snow led to a number of accidents and major traffic challenges in Oslo on Monday afternoon. In the middle of the rush, most of the bus traffic was stopped as a result of the snow chaos.
Already warn Routes against problems that may arise on Friday:
– We ask those who are going out and traveling by public transport to allow extra time. There may be major operational disruptions with full and partial disruptions in public transport, writes Ruter in a press release.
They remind that the travel guarantee does not apply when the weather prevents buses and trams from getting there.
