Gammelveien i Øksfjordbotn (The Old Road in Øksfjordbotn)
Description
Øksfjordbotn
The Old Road in Øksfjordbotn is 1.3km long and winds it way among low birch trees up the hillside. It is a so called chaussé or metalled road construction which was carefully engineered to have a no greater gradient than 1:20. This particular stretch is the last remaining original part of the road built between Tappeluft in Alta and Øksfjordbotn. Built in the early 20th century it was part of a larger road project going from Kvænangen in the county of Troms to Langfjorden in western Finnmark. The work was mainly done by hand and the road took five years to build.
The fine stone abutments, the stone guards along the road's edge, the horses' water troughs, the gravel and rock quarries and the road surface are still like they were more than a hundred years ago. The Old Road in Øksfjordbotn is one of the best-preserved roads of its kind in Norway, and in 2009 it was granted protected status in accordance with the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Act.
The fine stone abutments, the stone guards along the road's edge, the horses' water troughs, the gravel and rock quarries and the road surface are still like they were more than a hundred years ago. The Old Road in Øksfjordbotn is one of the best-preserved roads of its kind in Norway, and in 2009 it was granted protected status in accordance with the Norwegian Cultural Heritage Act.
Year of construction
1905-1910
Client
Norwegian Public Roads Administration
Building Type
Road
chaussee
Construction System / Materials
Metalled road
stone and gravel construction
Literature
Unstad, Inger Helen: Med spade og spett, feisel og rå muskelkraft. Gammelvegen i Øksfjordbotn. Fotefar mot nord. Vadsø 1996