Two men died in the head-on collision between a bus and a passenger car in connection with Farstabron in Värmdö municipality outside Stockholm on Thursday.
The bridge, which connects the island of Värmdö and Nacka, has previously been criticized for being easy to get on the wrong side. Carl Kangas (S), chairman of the municipal board in Värmdö municipality, is strongly critical of traffic safety.
I think it's unacceptable that the only fast connection from Värmdö to the mainland is so dangerous that it continues to claim lives, he says to SvD.
According to the newspaper Mitt i, an elderly woman died in a traffic accident between two cars in connection with the bridge in 2023. From 2021 to September last year, four accidents with personal injuries occurred, in all cases a driver got on the wrong lane.
Värmdö municipality has previously demanded that the Swedish Transport Administration take measures to improve traffic safety. Now Kangas has gathered all parties in Värmdö with the aim of sending a new request to the authority.
What we want to see is a median barrier that separates traffic in different directions, he says to SvD.
In March, the Swedish Transport Administration announced that the middle lane will become reversible and can be used in both directions with a boom system. It is planned for 2027.
”Road users may have difficulty reading the traffic environment and end up on the wrong side. It has happened that drivers who are driving towards Värmdö drive over the median, where oncoming traffic is driving towards the city”, the Swedish Transport Administration wrote then.
What caused Thursday's accident is still unclear.
