Norwegian Public Roads Administration

Norwegian Public Roads Administration

Type	Government agency
Industry	Road infrastructure
Headquarters	Oslo, Norway
Area served	Norway
Key people	Terje Moe Gustavsen (Road Director)
Parent	Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications
Website	www.vegvesen.no
References: [1]

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Norwegian: Statens vegvesen) is a Norwegian government agency responsible for the state and county public roads in the country. This includes planning, construction and operation of the state and county road networks, driver training and licensing, vehicle inspection and subsidies to car ferries.

The agency is led by the Directorate of Public Roads (Vegdirektoratet) that is subordinate to the Ministry of Transport and Communications. Statens vegvesen is divided into five regions and thirty districts. In matters concerning state roads the agency is subordinate to the ministry and in matters concerning county roads subordinate to the county administration. The agency is based in Oslo.^[1]

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration is one of the largest government agencies of Norway in terms of budget.

History

Originally, the Ministry of Justice had the responsibility for public roads. In 1846, Prime Minister Frederik Stang created the position of Roads Assistant in the Ministry of the Interior. The Roads Assistant headed a department for roads engineering. Captain (Engineer) H.K. Finne became the first Roads Assistant. The Directorate of Public Roads was established in 1864, and Chr. W. Berg became the first Director of Public Roads. From 1885 to 1944, the Directorate was subordinate to the Ministry of Labour, and has since been subordinate to the Ministry of Transport.

References

1. ^ ^{a b} Norwegian Public Roads Administration. "The Norwegian Public Roads Administration". http://www.vegvesen.no/en/Home. Retrieved 2009-04-06.