Some roads cannot be fixed until spring

It is clear that there has been so much damage to several road sections in the Westfjords in recent days that it will not be possible to repair them until next spring. The Road Administration is currently working on road repairs in several places, but since the top layer has come off, it will not be possible to fully repair the roads.

Sigurður Guðmundur Sverrisson, chief engineer at Vegagerðinn in Ísafjörður, says in an interview with mbl.is that the sections where the top layer came off are not long, but are still dangerous for road users. The areas are in Hestfjörður and Ísafjarðardjúp and possibly in more places.

A 200-meter landslide into the fjord

Landslides fell from Eyrarhlíð on Hnífsdalsvegur Road, between Ísafjörður and Hnífsdalur yesterday, and the road workers worked this morning to open the road. It was a lot of work to get the mud off the road, but it was all shoveled into the sea. Much of the mud had already flowed there, and Sverrisson says that about 200 meters of mud from the landslide had reached Skutulsfjörður fjord from Eyrarhlíð.

"We are trying to open the roads now, but more damage is predicted this evening and night," he adds.

Asked if the Road Administration is now preparing for more rain and storms ahead, Sverrisson says that it is in the hands of the police in the Westfjords.

Close the road at midnight

An announcement from the police this afternoon says that the road under Eyrarhlíð will be closed at midnight tonight. If the weather is worse than forecast, the road will be closed earlier.

"Late tonight, it can be expected to start raining again, and tomorrow, strong winds and rain are expected. On the second evening, cooling weather is expected, and on Friday there is a forecast for a NW storm with snowfall until Saturday," says the announcement.

Police say that it can be expected that more landslides will fall from steep slopes and that water will rise in rivers and streams. Roads may therefore be closed at short notice for an indefinite period.

The police urge residents in the area to make plans in case Hnífsdalsvegur Road continues to be closed to traffic in the morning and that roads between places may be closed at short notice.

Police say that it can be expected that more landslides will fall from steep slopes and that water will rise in rivers and streams. Roads may therefore be closed at short notice for an indefinite period.