University of BergenPublished: 02.05.2016 | Author: Nils Georg Brekke
The road along the north side of the Hardanger fjord - between Øystese and Eide in Granvin – was literally built “by hand”. The construction work started in February 1933, and on 9 October 1937 Crown Price Olav opened the stretch of road between Øystese and Ålvik at Fyksesund bridge.
The stretch between Ålvik and Kvanndal was opened in the autumn 1940, and more than 600 men, divided into a hundred work teams, built the stretch from Kvanndal to Granvin from the autumn 1940 to the autumn 1941.In the spring 1933 the workers’ union demanded that the advance payment be increased from 60 to 90 øre per hour. The Road Administration rejected the demand from the workers, and from 22 July 1933 the strike was a reality.For a long time there was no information about this work conflict. Norsk Arbeidsmandforbund (the union) made several efforts to persuade the Road Director to meet the demands of the workers. Only a year later, on 2 May, did the striking workers meet and decided by a large majority that the work be resumed. Thus one of the longest lasting work conflicts in West Norway came to a halt.
Building roads through the hard Precambrian basement at Lussand in the 1930s, the most difficult stretch along Hardanger Fjord, was a big challenge for the road workers.
As late as in the 1920s the village of Kvanndal paid an annual sum to the church to ensure that the Bjørgi mountain on the other side of Granvin Fjord wouldn't collapse. In earlier times, such offerings were common - especially in places where people lived under threat from the great forces of nature.
