– Worse than expected.
DOWNTOWN: The more than 100-year-old walls along the Drammenselva need to be upgraded.
A preliminary investigation was recently carried out which shows that the wall is so unstable that it is in acute danger of collapsing. The municipality has therefore set up barricades along the hiking route so that no one will move too far out on the edge, Drammen municipality announced on Monday.
The wall on the north side of the river between Bybrua and Øvre Sund consists of granite stones stacked on logs that have been knocked into the ground.
– Bearing in mind that the retaining wall was built around 1920, we have been aware that it needs to be improved. In the autumn of 2022, we carried out a condition assessment of the retaining walls along the north side of the Drammenselva. The report revealed that there is a great need for improvement of several of the walls, says business manager for transport, roads and parks Frode Vestgarden.
In the report, the wall downstream of Ypsilon was assessed as being in danger of collapsing. As this is a much-used hiking trail, funds have been allocated to improve the wall this year.
New wall after the summer
Work is currently underway to design a new retaining wall. The job will then be put out to tender, with a contract concluded in July. Construction work will start as soon as practicable after the summer holidays.
– According to the plan, we will be finished before next summer. The barriers will therefore remain in place for quite some time to come. We ask that everyone respect the barriers and take each other into account now that the hiking route is a little narrower than normal, concludes Vestgarden.
Due to the unstable wall, it is also not permitted to moor boats in the area that is blocked off. A sign will be put up facing the river informing that the jetty is closed.
