More about E6 Vindåsliene

The upgrade has so far been characterized by improvements on shorter sections, each of which has improved accessibility and traffic safety on the sections where the investments have been implemented, for example in Melhus town center, but which has reinforced the impression of a highly variable standard.

Central Norway’s Most Important Main Road

The E6 through Sør-Trøndelag south of Trondheim is an important part of a national transport corridor and is Central Norway’s most important main road. Today, the road has a standard marked by significant variations. Road width and curves are not adapted to current and future transport needs and create significant obstacles for development in the towns along the route. Large parts of the current main road network are therefore not adapted to the requirements for traffic safety and accessibility and significantly hinder business activity throughout Trøndelag, as well as national and international north-south transport.

Road with High Accident Rate

The proportion of heavy vehicles is very high, with 13–15% in the urban area and 15–30% on sections south of Melhus. This, combined with the generally poor road standard, makes transport on this route a major strain for both professional drivers and other traffic. Although the accident frequency has decreased in recent years on this section, the relatively high traffic volumes result in high accident costs. The section represents 0.3% of the country’s national and county roads but accounts for 1.0% of the accident costs.

E6 Passing Through Multiple Towns

The E6 currently passes through the towns of Berkåk, Soknedal, Lundamo, Ler, and Kvål. Long stretches lack facilities for pedestrians and cyclists. In many places, there is also no parallel local road. Properties along the E6 therefore need to be accessed via direct driveways, and the E6 must be used as a local road, for example for agricultural transport. There are currently a number of direct driveways onto the E6, many of which are difficult to see and geometrically poorly designed. As a result of many direct driveways, the speed limit is reduced over long stretches. Much roadside development along the E6 also means that many residents are affected by road traffic noise.

Many of these needs are relatively universal for users of any main road. For this particular corridor, some specific factors can be noted:

• A large portion of the traffic involves long-distance travel, especially south of Støren.
• A large portion of the traffic starts or ends in Trondheim. Population and economic development in Trondheim will largely determine traffic development in the corridor.
• There are a few alternative routes for long journeys in the corridor, but the detours are long and partly of poor transport standard. The majority of businesses and residents in Central Norway are entirely dependent on this corridor for external connections. The same applies to Northern Norway, particularly for areas south of Narvik.

The road passes through many towns, especially in Melhus municipality, and also has long stretches with many driveways. This results in disadvantages in terms of the environment, safety, and accessibility. The accident burden along the current E6 is very high.

Against this background, the affected municipalities of Oppdal, Rennebu, Midtre Gauldal, and Melhus, together with Sør-Trøndelag County, through the Trondheimsveien project, have initiated the establishment of a toll package for the development of the section.

Read more about the project at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration.