years, however, a' common administration of government and
provincial road matters has been introduced by agreement in
most of the counties (15 out of .18). The county engineers
are appointed by the department after nomination by the county
council, and superintend also the government roads, while the
central, administration-, on the other hand, has some control over
the cross roads.
The keeping of the roads in proper repair is still done in
most cases by the farmers under the supervision of the-«lensmand», •
each farm being assigned a piece of road in proportion to its
ground-tax, which is to be provided with gravel, kept practicable
in the winter, etc. Of late years, the districts have to a great extent
taken the maintenance into their own hands, and road-keepers are
appointed to look after them.
In 1850, the total length of road in the country was 10,000
miles, 3,800 miles' being main roads. During the half century
since the reform of 1851, the length of road has about been
doubled. The main roads now amount to about 6,000 miles, and
the cross roads to more than 10,000 miles (in 1895, 5,994 and
10,783 miles respectively, 16,777 miles in all).
The cost of making main roads, which in the forties did not
amount to kr. 150,000 annually, has risen to 1.7 million kr. annually
in the years 1890 to 1896. In 1894, the government grant amounted
to kr. 1,374,295. The cost to the counties of road-making, including
cross roads, amounted to kr. 296,974, to the districts kr. 337,290.
to the towns kr. 87,821. The total expenditure pn road-making
thus amounted to 2.1 million kr., to which must be added the
expenses of administration. The maintenance of the roads at
the same time cost the government kr. 57,830, the county corporations
kr. 396,117, and the districts kr. 355,185, or kr. 809,132
in all. To this must be added, as far as' the districts are
concerned, the direct work performed by the owners of registered
farms. In 1871, this, with a road-length of rather more
than 12,000 miles, was estimated at kr. 1,237,000; and although
since that time a considerable amount has been transferred to the
direct expenditure of the districts, it cannot now, when the road-
length has been increased by one. half, be put lower than at about
1.5 million kr. The total annual expenditure of the country on
public roads is thus brought up to 47s million kr. in round figures,
or rather more than kr. 2 .per head.
Simultaneously with the great reform in road matters, by which
the principle of local government and local fating was adopted,
a more rational system of making roads was also resorted to.
This reform was introduced mainly by C. W. Bebgh, who was
road-assistant in the Department of the Interior after 1852, and
the first road-director in the country, 1864—73. The first thing
required was to get more even levels with a maximum rise of 1 in
15 or less (rarely as much as 1 in 12). As it is of course important
to follow the ground as exactly as possible, these new
roads generally keep along the bottom of the valley by the river,
while the old, hilly road may often be seen far up the side of
the valley. In some places, it is even possible to see three or
four roads of different times,' as for instance, at Galdeme in
Lierdal, where there is the old bridle-path of the middle ages, and
driving-roads of 1800, 1840 and 1878. More attention was moreover
paid to the paving of roads; in roads with heavy traffic,
macadam was employed, with layers of stone, in secondary roads,
gravel. In the large main roads, the breadth is up to 6 yards,
in the roads with less traffic, it is generally 4 yards, which is
reduced in difficult places to 2.7 yards, with places for passing.
In planning a road, the whole thing is adjusted, as regards
steepest gradient, paving, width, etc., to the probable amount
of traffic. -
The traffic capabilities of the roads during this development
increased to an extraordinary degree. Whereas on the bridlepaths,
it was scarcely possible to convey more than 200 lbs. on a
pack-horse, and on the old hilly roads no greater load than from
500 to 1,100 lbs., on the new gravel roads, from 1,300 to 2,000 lbs.
can be carried, and on the main roads more than 2,200 lbs. per
horse. When the roads are in good condition for sledging, the
traffic is easier than on the best road-paving. In 1885, the cost
of the carriage of 1 ton over 1 mile was estimated at from kr.
1.13 to 2.25 on bridle-paths, kr. 0.80 on the old, hilly driviqg-
roads, about kr. (5.53 on the new roads, and on a first rate macadamised
road, only kr. 0.32.
Wheeled vehicles in the country were formerly almost exclusively
one-horsed and two-wheeled — for the conveyance of people,
stolkjserrer (2 persons) or karioler (1 person). With the new
roads, two-horsed, four-wheeled carriages have become very general
(about 70,000 four-wheeled carriages in 1895). •