million kronor. Out of the State grant, more than 4-5 million kronor have
fallen to each of the Ians of Norrbotten and Vasterbotten. Of late years,
the share of jSTorrland has still further increased, so that for 1909—13
an amount of 2 950 000 kronor fell to the four northernmost Ians out of
a total of 7 200 000 kronor. — In several Ians the County Councils also
make grants towards the construction and improvement of the roads.
Conformably to old legal enactments, the roads were divided into four kinds:
high-roads, which, had to be 6 meters wide, church-roads and mill-roads, which
should be 3‘6 m wide, and market-roads. In the 18th century, there was
also a difference made between court- or hundred-roads — joining two hundreds
and their courts of assizes — and parish-roads, comprising the former church- and
mill-roads; less important were the village-roads, which had to be kept in good
repair by the respective villages. During later times, the public roads were classified
into high-roads or king’s highways, hundred-roads and parish-roads. The
law of 1891 concerning roads, which has been in force since 1895, makes no
other difference than between high-roads and village-roads. 1912, there were
19 049 kilometers of high-roads and 43 477 kilometers of village-roads, to which
may be added the 800 kilometers of town streets, which are considered as
forming part of the net of roads in the Kingdom.
The task of keeping the roads in repair has, in Sweden, ever since olden
times fallen on the land, i. e., on all those persons who owned and cultivated
the ground, , and so the burden was, at quite an early date, distributed
upon the farms. Only the construction and repair of large bridges
was made the joint business of one or more hundreds.
Many runic stones from the time of the Vikings commemorate men who
had built roads or bridges. And the fact th a t the Church — though, in general,
she had her land exempted from contributions as far as possible ■— constantly
took part in the repair of the roads that ran by or through her estatesgjiears
witness to this work being considered as highly important for civilization?, and
for the interests of the Church, and also to the fact of its being too heavy a
burden to be borne by the assessed land alone. The expedient, resorted to in many
places abroad, of finding means for the repair of the roads by levying a fee
from the way-farers, has been practised in Sweden only to a small extent, and
then chiefly at large bridges, for the construction of which the communes
or the hundreds had been obliged to raise a loan repayable over a long amortization
period.
For many centuries, the repair of roads bas been incumbent only on the
assessed land, i. e., on the farm-owners, but with the exemption of certain
farms, works, mills, taxed outlying grounds, and the country parsonages
of town clergymen; the properties with special privileges (Saterier) in
Bohuslan, Halland, Skane, and Blekinge — provinces ceded by Denmark
to Sweden in 1658 — were also dispensed from road-service. Previous
to 1895, the hundreds had to keep up the highroads and hundred-roads;
each parish kept its parish-roads; and each town, the roads within its own
boundaries. After many complaints about this burden, the road-service
was finally placed on other taxable objects than landed estates by the
Law about Roads, of 1891. Since 1895, a certain tax has been levied on
each “vdgfyrk”, and, since 1906, one such “ fyrk” (taxation-unit) is levied
on landed estate (common woods excepted) for each 100 kronor of the
assessed value, on common woods for each 150 kronor of the assessed value,
on other real property, for each 200 kronor of the assessed value, and
on income of capital or work, for each 30 kronor of the assessable share.
Small parcels of land, and the income from State tenement lands are, however,
exempt from sharing the burden of road-service.
The keeping of the roads in repair is performed in kind by those who possess
landed estate, with the exception of common woods, and all the roads of each
road-service district are divided among them according to the assessed value of
their farms. The road-service district generally corresponds to the hundred. Of
the) amount required for maintaining the roads of the whole district, the State
contributes 3/ao, while the remaining 11 Jto are distributed between all the “vagfyrks”
(see above) of the district and paid in money into the road-fund by those who
have not already paid their road-tax in kind. With these supplies the road-fund
must pay the cost of the nonrdivided roads, bridges and ferries, the winter upkeep
(snow-ploughing), administration, road- and bridge constructions, and more casual
expenses. If the money does not suffice, additional sums must be levied in
money on all the “vagfyrks”, < If, again, a surplus remains, this can be used for
a thorough repair of the roads, or, if this be not required, for an alleviation of
the iroad-service (abatement of the taxes for the following year). The State also
shares the cost of (the first) partition of roads, or their “gradation” (valuation) and
distribution among those having to do road-service in kind, which is carried out in
the' same way as the division of lands During the last few years, the State has
made grants to those road-service districts that are heavily burdened. In 1913, this
grant amounted to 150 000 kronor. Other duties connected with the administration
of roads devolve on a Board o f Boads, chosen by the roadkeepers of each district,
and are controlled by an annual road-survey, carried out by the officials bound to
keep order in the country districts, with the assistance of two jurats (namndeman).
In 1912, the kingdom was divided into 370 road-service districts. The cost
of upkeep for the “divided” roads was then estimated at 7 550 000 kronor, or
on an average, 12’07 kronor per road-meter. The expenses of the nonrdivided,
roads, bridges, and. ferries came to 1 545 000 kronor; of the winter upkeep,
1253 000 kronor; of administrative expenses, 286 000 kronor; of road- and
bridge constructions, 2 423 000 kronor,, and . of other items, 645 000 kronor,
or a total of 13 702 000 kronor. Of this sum, 11 080 000 kronor fell on the
different road-service districts, the rest being paid by the State.
During thè last few years, however, vigorous appeals have been made to
the State to undertake the entire charge of the road-service, and numerous
motions have been brought forward in the Riksdag to this effect.
The towns must keep their roads in repair themselves and by their own authorities
superintend those who have to maintain the road-service (land-owners, contractors,
or hired workmen). The upkeep of village roads depends on the
agreements made between those who use them, and disputes are, as a rule,
settled at thè courts of justice, on equitable grounds.
The character of the country roads in Sweden has improved considerably during
the last few years, and in general, they may be considered as satisfactory,
excepting in some districts, especially in the north of Sweden. With the
arrival of the motor-car, there has grown up during the last few years an
increased need of improved country-roads, and a “Road Association” is just
now being formed (1914), the object of which is to work for the development
and improvement of the roads in question.