Beautiful roads and streets

Our ambition is to design all new roads without adversely affecting important landscape features, and if possible, add beauty to our surroundings. The Beautiful Roads Award was established to encourage good design.

Aesthetic values, residential environments, biological diversity and cultural monuments are all aspects that need to be incorporated into road planning. Roads are aligned and designed in accordance with two main principles; either as a positive contrast to the environment, or adapted to and anchored in it.  For most roads the principle of adaptation will be the natural choice. The Norwegian landscape constitutes a significant challenge to road planners and engineers, and demands a multi-disciplinary approach in planning, construction, and maintenance of roads. The Road Director’s “Beautiful Roads Award” was established in 1989 in order to encourage high quality road architecture. The prize is now awarded every 2nd year.

Norway have signed The European Landscape Convention, giving us a special responsibility to take landscape values into consideration in strategic planning, feasibility studies, detailed planning, and management of the roads.