Tomorrow will be a day of joy for North Jutland.
That’s what it sounded like in a speech in North Jutland on Sunday, where all the region’s mayors, the chairman of the regional council, the minister of transport and the social democratic chairman of the Norwegian Parliament’s Transport Committee praised the swift adoption of a 3rd Limfjord connection via Egholm.
– The decision is important because we are already tired of queues, congestion and delays, just as there is an alarming prospect that the problems will grow over our heads if we do nothing. The decision is important because we want to build a bridge to the future – not disconnect North Jutland, wrote the politicians.
Fortunately, it will not be finally adopted tomorrow, but there is no excitement regarding the outcome. A detail question for political nerds is what the radicals end up voting for. The party is part of the infrastructure settlement from 2021, but has since possibly changed its mind.
In practice, however, it doesn’t matter what the radicals decide.
The majority is still large, and before the summer holidays the 3rd Limfjord connection will be adopted by law following the 3rd and final reading in the Folketing.
Nordjyske also believes that it is the right decision.
Not because – as some eagerly claim on social media – that we should have been bought and paid to take that position. It is a claim without any basis in reality.
But because North Jutland needs that connection. Especially for Vendsyssel, it is an extremely important connection. Without it, the northernmost part will risk to an even greater extent being affected by development.
The Limfjord Bridge was put into use in 1933, the tunnel in 1969 and in the following years the volume of traffic has only increased. Today, the capacity on the bridge and in the tunnel has long been exceeded, and all projections clearly show that there will be more and more traffic.
But for many it will be anything but a day of joy.
For those who have fought with admirable fervor, there will be absolutely nothing to rejoice over. For them it will be closer to a day of mourning.
Both bitterness and anger are understandable.
If you believe that you stand with obvious arguments and have the truth on your side, it obviously seems terribly frustrating that the other party has simply rejected them as unfounded.
If you are convinced that the project will trigger an asbestos disaster, it must be provocative to see your fears dismissed, and it can also be difficult to accept that others do not think that the project should be dropped for the sake of the otter.
Possibly for this reason, the debate has become increasingly sharp, and often irreconcilable.
Hardly ever in Aalborg’s history have there been so many people who feel so overwhelmed by a political majority.
But that’s how a democracy works.
An inevitable part of politics is also making decisions that may bother others, and a 3rd Limfjord connection will also do that. The construction emits significant amounts of CO2, the road is noisy and animals have to move or learn to live with the new neighbour. In addition, the road costs the coffers.
But that will always be the case with suburban roads.
Our country is generally too small to build without disturbing anyone.
Regardless of where a new Limfjord connection is to be built, it will cause considerable inconvenience to the neighbours, and almost everyone will of course object to a motorway in the immediate vicinity of one’s back garden.
But it has to be built somewhere, and following a debate that has been going on for many years, it is time to move on and get started.
2024-03-17 20:33:41
#Tuesday #day #mourning
