Vegagerðin
Encyclopedia
Vegagerðin previously known as Vegagerð ríkisins for many decades, is a state run institution in Iceland
whose purpose is to construct and maintain roads and infrastructure (land and sea) in rural areas and between urban areas. It belongs to the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Local Government and is the legal owner of the roads and has the authority to execute construction of infrastructures on demand from the ministry.
between farms and villages began to improve. As fishermen's camps became villages, with homes and workshops, they also became important trading posts for the farms around them. Farmers traveled to the villages with their raw materials and traded these for foreign wares, mostly Danish. This was, of course, not a new thing in Iceland. These places had long been sites for Danish tradesmen but as these trading posts became villages, communication and infrastructure were bound to improve due to increased traffic. In the 19th century, horse carriages became more common among farmers and by the beginning of the 20th century carriage trail tracks had formed from every village to the countryside.
, the roads were made with huge human workforce
and they were bumpy and small. The terrain was also very challenging for the road makers for it is often rough and most places in the Eastern and Western Fjords are surrounded by dominating cliff mountains and mulls.
and in the 1950s and 1960s gigantic progress was made in Icelandic infrastructure. In 1960 the task of giving all populated areas road access was announced to be finished and the next step was to improve these wretched roads and build bridges, tunnel and introducing asphalt
. At the time, Vegagerðin was a very large organization and workplace with lots of workers and equipment. In the 1980s and 1990s, when the huge wave of privatization
rode Iceland and Western Europe, private contractors became more common in the field of road construction both in urban and rural areas. Vegagerðin downsized its labour workforce and began to rely more and more on private contractors when making new roads and infrastructural constructions.
Today Vegagerðin has no road making workers or equipment and the actual work has been completely privatized. Therefore, in the field of making the road, Vegagerðin is the middleman between the contractors and the government and does the paying. Vegagerðin (meaning road-makers) who at first was the actual road makers is now just a road administration and the workers are mostly clerks, working in offices, doing measuring, planning
and tendering
.
Vegagerðin has its headquarters in the capital, Reykjavík
, but its activity in the countryside is controlled from outposts in various towns and the land is divided into four administrative divisions. Those are South (Suðursvæði), Southwest (Suðvestursvæði), Northwest (Norðvestursvæði) and Northeast (Norðaustursvæði). Those are again all divided into two service areas except for the South area which is only one service area for it is so small. That is because it includes the capital Reykjavík, which has many roads. The service area is where the maintenance department of each service facility (which are in various towns and villages) can maintain the road, signs, tunnel and so on.
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
whose purpose is to construct and maintain roads and infrastructure (land and sea) in rural areas and between urban areas. It belongs to the Ministry of Transport, Communications and Local Government and is the legal owner of the roads and has the authority to execute construction of infrastructures on demand from the ministry.
Until the 20th century
Until the 18th century there were no official roads in Iceland, only paths and barely visible tracks which people followed, with the help of piles of rocks, for a few kilometers in either direction. In the 19th century, when fishing villages began to spring up on shores and sandbanks, infrastructureInfrastructure
Infrastructure is basic physical and organizational structures needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function...
between farms and villages began to improve. As fishermen's camps became villages, with homes and workshops, they also became important trading posts for the farms around them. Farmers traveled to the villages with their raw materials and traded these for foreign wares, mostly Danish. This was, of course, not a new thing in Iceland. These places had long been sites for Danish tradesmen but as these trading posts became villages, communication and infrastructure were bound to improve due to increased traffic. In the 19th century, horse carriages became more common among farmers and by the beginning of the 20th century carriage trail tracks had formed from every village to the countryside.
Early 20th century - 1960
In the early 20th century a few automobiles had come to Iceland and streets had been formed in the largest towns. This called for roads between places and the old the government called for the old horse tracks to be converted into gravel roads. In 1918 the Icelandic government established the office of Vegamálastjóri(Director of Roads) and Vitamálastjóri(Director of Lighthouses). The latter was an officer overseeing lighthouses and sea transportation and the office of Vegamálastjóri was the predecessor of the Vegagerð Ríkisins institution which was formed few years later and is what now is called Vegagerðin. The history of road construction in Iceland can be divided into two eras; pre-1960 and post-1960. Before 1960 the main concern of the government was to build road access to all populated areas in Iceland and to all farms. This was a great task and with a low level budgetBudget
A budget is a financial plan and a list of all planned expenses and revenues. It is a plan for saving, borrowing and spending. A budget is an important concept in microeconomics, which uses a budget line to illustrate the trade-offs between two or more goods...
, the roads were made with huge human workforce
Workforce
The workforce is the labour pool in employment. It is generally used to describe those working for a single company or industry, but can also apply to a geographic region like a city, country, state, etc. The term generally excludes the employers or management, and implies those involved in...
and they were bumpy and small. The terrain was also very challenging for the road makers for it is often rough and most places in the Eastern and Western Fjords are surrounded by dominating cliff mountains and mulls.
1960 - present day
Iceland became very wealthy after World War II via the Marshall PlanMarshall Plan
The Marshall Plan was the large-scale American program to aid Europe where the United States gave monetary support to help rebuild European economies after the end of World War II in order to combat the spread of Soviet communism. The plan was in operation for four years beginning in April 1948...
and in the 1950s and 1960s gigantic progress was made in Icelandic infrastructure. In 1960 the task of giving all populated areas road access was announced to be finished and the next step was to improve these wretched roads and build bridges, tunnel and introducing asphalt
Asphalt
Asphalt or , also known as bitumen, is a sticky, black and highly viscous liquid or semi-solid that is present in most crude petroleums and in some natural deposits, it is a substance classed as a pitch...
. At the time, Vegagerðin was a very large organization and workplace with lots of workers and equipment. In the 1980s and 1990s, when the huge wave of privatization
Privatization
Privatization is the incidence or process of transferring ownership of a business, enterprise, agency or public service from the public sector to the private sector or to private non-profit organizations...
rode Iceland and Western Europe, private contractors became more common in the field of road construction both in urban and rural areas. Vegagerðin downsized its labour workforce and began to rely more and more on private contractors when making new roads and infrastructural constructions.
Today Vegagerðin has no road making workers or equipment and the actual work has been completely privatized. Therefore, in the field of making the road, Vegagerðin is the middleman between the contractors and the government and does the paying. Vegagerðin (meaning road-makers) who at first was the actual road makers is now just a road administration and the workers are mostly clerks, working in offices, doing measuring, planning
Urban planning
Urban planning incorporates areas such as economics, design, ecology, sociology, geography, law, political science, and statistics to guide and ensure the orderly development of settlements and communities....
and tendering
Request for tender
A request for tender, commonly abbreviated to RFT, is a formal, structured invitation to suppliers for the supply of products or services. In the public sector, such a process may be required and determined in detail by law to ensure that such competition for the use of public money is open, fair...
.
Road administration areas
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
, but its activity in the countryside is controlled from outposts in various towns and the land is divided into four administrative divisions. Those are South (Suðursvæði), Southwest (Suðvestursvæði), Northwest (Norðvestursvæði) and Northeast (Norðaustursvæði). Those are again all divided into two service areas except for the South area which is only one service area for it is so small. That is because it includes the capital Reykjavík, which has many roads. The service area is where the maintenance department of each service facility (which are in various towns and villages) can maintain the road, signs, tunnel and so on.