Road Maintenance Obligation

In King Magnus Eriksson's nationwide National Law Code and Town Law from the 1350s, there were also laws for the maintenance of Sweden's roads. Under the Provincial Act's Agriculture code, farmers were obliged to maintain the road network. Special division lists were introduced where each stretch of road was divided into different road lots, and each of these road lots was to be maintained by the landowning peasants along the respective road. In order to keep track of the boundary between the different road lots, the farmers set up special road maintenance stones (Swe: väghållningsstenar) at each end of the allotted lots. These stones were often marked with the name or initials of the farmer and the farm. It also happened that a farmer could have road lots in several places in his parish, i.e. the lots did not have to be next to each other. The landowning farmers were thus obliged to maintain the roads, i.e. the mantal-set land, and the roads had to be maintained twice a year, usually before the spring sowing and after the autumn harvest. Road maintenance was checked annually by special road and bridge inspections. The Swedish National Land Survey Agency (Swe: Lantmäteriet) was established in 1628 and the land surveyors carried out road division assignments. The medieval National Law Code stipulated that the road width for highways and district roads should be 10 Swedish cubits (6 m) and for village roads 6 cubits (3.6 m). The farmers were thus obliged to keep the road passable over their own land. However, those who did not have a road across their land did not escape participating in the road maintenance effort.

Farmers' Road Maintenance Obligation Ends

For centuries, the farmers had complained about the obligation to maintain roads, and the Peasantry at the Diet of the Four Estates complained about this. The burden was gradually distributed so that it also came to rest on divided off agricultural property, but also on other taxable property. A new organization of the road system was created and came into force in 1895 with so-called road municipalities, which were also based on municipal autonomy. The new road municipalities, divided into different road districts, usually covered an entire court district. The road municipalities were a kind of municipality with its own levying right, an administrative road board (Swe: vägstyrelse), and a decision-making road council (vägstämma). Every taxpayer had access to the road council meeting and the right to vote. Like municipal voting rights, this was graduated, i.e. voting was based on income and property value based on "fyrktal". Agricultural properties were still obliged to carry out road maintenance but had a lower estimated road tax per fyrk. The roads within the road district were divided into sections according to the assessed value of the farm, and the sections were marked with road signs following the roads. An innovation was that the Government provided a subsidy for road maintenance of 10% of the estimated cost. A change in the law in 1921 gave the road maintenance districts the right to carry out all in- kind road maintenance through the road board. The medieval burden placed solely on the land was thus finally removed.

Northern Trail (Norrstigen)

Along the Norrland coast, there was a well-known route, Norrstigen (The Northern Trail). It was to be cleared to a width of 6 cubits (3.6 m). In the Middle Ages, there was hardly any roadway to speak of, as wheel carts were not used. But roads had to be provided to the parishes inland for their connection to the trail. These roads (paths) were of a lower standard than the Norrstigen. For the farmers who maintained the roads, it was of course a heavy burden to build and maintain these roads. But both judges and local police officers checked that the roads were passable and prosecuted any negligent road-keepers. Norrstigen later came to be known as Kustlandsvägen (The Coast Highway). During the 20th century, the Stockholm-Haparanda section was renamed Riksväg 13 (National Road 13). Nowadays this stretch is part of the E4 (European Road 4). Ådalsvägen (Ådalen Route) was a detour from the Northern Trail, which followed the Ångerman River from its estuary up towards Sollefteå town.

1500s

In 1559, King Gustav Vasa decreed which roads between the counties should be the main roads and they should be widened to roads that could be used by horses and wagons. The old riding paths should be cleared, widened, straightened and the road surface leveled. However, the work was slow, the roads continued to be stony and rough. But it was at this time that roads began to be built in contrast to the old natural paths. Stone-filled caissons were used for longer wooden bridges over watercourses. Roads were now generally laid at the boundaries between estates and often in the area between woods and fields, winding around fields and meadows across the landscape.

1600s

During the days of Sweden’s Great Power Era, there was a considerable increase in the demand for passable roads, roads that could also serve as marching routes for the army with its heavy horse and carriage transport. In 1628, the newly established National Land Survey Agency began to measure and map the roads. These maps were considered military secrets at the time. Under the Constitution of 1634, Sweden was divided into counties, with a County Administrative Board (Swe: Länstyrelse) in each county. With the creation of the County Administrative Boards, road management was improved. However, road work was primitive and was done by hand with shovels, pickaxes, wheelbarrows, horses, etc. Bridges were usually built of wood, but pontoon bridges also existed. Queen Kristina's Innkeepers' Ordinance of 1649 included rules for inns to be established every 20 km (12 mi) and milestones to be erected along the roads at every 10 km (6 mi). The roads were to be measured so that all 10 km stretches were of equal length. The county governors were given the task of ensuring that the road maintenance obligation was fulfilled. The governors were also responsible for the erection of milestones. At county and parish borders, there were sometimes so-called rightly stones (Swe: rättestenar) urging travelers to behave lawfully. Road policy in the 17th century was mainly to improve the standard of the existing roads; the simple hoof paths were to be improved to become cart paths and the cart paths were to be transformed into almost stone and hill free carriage roads.

1700s

The 18th century was a time of road building. Many works were established in the 18th century and the need for roads for transport increased dramatically, and in all months of the year. Demands on roads increased and existing roads were improved and new ones were built. The demand for faster travel, better carts that could carry larger loads, etc., contributed in the following century to a lot of work being done to remove the worst uphills and, above all, to improve the road surface. In 1718 Sweden receives a decree on right-hand traffic, but under the 1734 Law, left-hand traffic was introduced. It also included an ordinance on signposting to communities and clarifications on road maintenance. In the 1734 Act, the Agriculture Code (Swe: Byggningabalken) provides, among other things, for the division of roads into public roads, church roads, mill roads, and village roads. A chapter deals with road maintenance and the conditions for building roads, as well as the obligation to clear and maintain roads and bridges and “road shall be laid in the County where it is needed”. There is also text on milestones and signposting. Concerning winter road maintenance, there is only mention of winter roads on ice, but nothing about snow clearance. The medieval National Law Code stipulated that the road width for highways and court roads should be 10 Swedish cubits (6 m) and for village roads 6 cubits (3.6 m). As for road width in the 18th century, these measurements are repeated in the Agriculture Code in the 1734 Act. This law was in force until the 1891 Road Act, which stipulated a road width of 6 m for highways and 3.6 m for village roads. {A Swedish cubic (aln) = 59 cm} It was not until the middle of the 18th century that the major highways could be said to be in such good condition that, with some difficulty, it was possible to travel on them by horse and carriage. In 1752 it was decided that stone bridges should be built on public roads, so-called arch bridges. Although the roads were still poor, Sweden, with its solid bedrock, still had relatively good roads internationally. However, the bulk of long and heavy haulage has traditionally taken place mainly in winter with snow conditions and especially on winter roads over the ice.

1800s

The introduction of a central government agency for the road system was brought up by Captain Axel Erik von Sydow in a small publication "The benefits and necessities of public work" in 1840. The proposal aroused great interest among King Karl XIV Johan and was the subject of a royal decree on August 6. In 1841, the "Royal Board for Public Road and Water Construction" was established, i.e. what later became the National Road Administration (Swe: Vägverket). The name "Royal Board for Public Road and Water Construction" changed in 1882 to the Royal Road and Water Construction Board (Kungl. väg- och vattenbyggnadsstyrelsen). Initially, and well into the 20th century, the Agency's responsibility was only to allocate government grants for the construction of roads, bridges, and canals, and to check that the work had been carried out properly. It was still the responsibility of the farmers to carry out the actual construction of the roads and to maintain them. In the 19th century, the roads face competition from both steamship traffic and the railways in terms of travel. In 1832, the Göta Canal was completed, enabling both passenger and freight travel across Sweden. To improve and to make the roads more passable, macadam (crushed gravel) is laid on the road surface to make it more durable and less muddy. With the expansion of the railroad in the second half of the 19th century, roads were also built to the new station communities growing around the railway stations. In 1891, Parliament passed a new Road Act, which came into force in 1895. Under the new Act, road maintenance obligations were distributed according to the assessed values of all rural properties. The landowning farmers were no longer solely responsible for maintaining the roads. Each landowner who was obliged to maintain a road was given a certain number of road lots to maintain in proportion to the size of the property. At the end of the 19th century, there were about 360.000 road lots in the country. Sweden was divided into 368 road maintenance districts, which were usually made up of the respective parish, county district, or court district. The 1891 Road Act established the old road width of 6 m for highways and 3.6 m for village roads. The image shows travelers with a horse and cart in Småland province, Sweden. Drawing by Fritz von Dardel (1817-1901). The image also shows a milestone and a closed gate across the road. Road Gates In the past, there could be gates even on public roads, gates that had to be opened and closed by the person passing the gate. In 1857, the County Administrative Board decided that the gates should be removed during the seasons when they were not needed for livestock. In 1864 it was forbidden to put up a gate across the road without the permission of the County Administrative Board, this applied to highways and county district roads. In 1927, a general ban on gates on public roads was introduced.

1900s

At the beginning of the 20th century, motoring is on the increase with more traffic on the roads. This meant that the old medieval road management could no longer meet the new demands on roads. Instead, a road tax (Swe: vägskatt) was introduced and road maintenance was taken over by road funds (Swe: vägkassor), one for each road maintenance district. The road funds received financial resources in the form of road taxes and government grants. The road boards (vägstyrelser), which managed the road funds, employed road engineers and road workers. In 1922, Parliament decided to introduce an automobile tax. The tax, which initially went directly to road maintenance, was distributed to both urban and rural areas by the Royal Road and Water Construction Board (Swe: Kungl. väg- och vattenbyggnadsstyrelsen). From 1924, the County Administrative Boards could also employ road consultants. In the 1934 Road Act, roads are divided into highways and rural roads. No provision is made for road widths. In 1937, the old natural road maintenance system was completely abolished and the former 368 road maintenance districts were merged into 170 road districts. Road maintenance could now be carried out more efficiently, including with the help of machinery, but road maintenance was still a municipal affair. On 1 January 1944, roads and road maintenance in rural areas were nationalized. The agency responsible for central administration became the Royal Road and Water Construction Board. Road administrations were now established in each county. During the high unemployment of the 1920s and 1930s, many new roads were built in an effort to keep unemployment down. It was the Government Unemployment Commission (Swe: Statens Arbetslöshetskommission, AK) that organized this construction. The image to the right shows a road construction between Alingsås- Vårgårda in 1933 with so-called AK workers. Photo: Alingsås museum, ID: AMB 15908.

Road Surfacing

According to the old provincial laws, roads and bridges had to be inspected every year. It was customary to gravel the road just before the inspection. Graveling was prescribed in 1734 when the road keepers were given access to gravel pits. The natural gravel then used as road surface material was later out-competed by crushed gravel. In 1953 it ceased to be used altogether. In 1854, macadam was laid on the road between Malmö and Lund, after which this water-bound macadam surfacing came into use in Sweden. The first Swedish asphalting of a road was done in 1876 on the street "Stora Nygatan" in Stockholm. The first asphalting of a highway in Sweden was probably carried out in the Stockholm area in 1909, using macadam and a bituminous binder. The length of road paved increased rapidly until the outbreak of World War II when there was a shortage of bituminous binder. In the late 1950s, roads also began to be paved with oil gravel. In 1906-1907, concrete paving was laid on some streets in Malmö, southern Sweden. The first concrete pavement on a highway in Sweden was laid in 1923 on a 400 m stretch of road between Stockholm and Södertälje. During the post-war period, several roads in Sweden were paved with concrete. The first concrete-surfaced motorway was opened in 1953 between Malmö and Lund. Concrete roads are not common in Sweden and today there is just under 70 km of concrete roads.

Bridges

The term bridge does not only refer to cantilever structures but in general to any kind of built-up road or road bank. They were usually built over the banks of the river at ford sites. Medieval provincial laws contain information on bridge building and maintenance.

Wooden Bridges

The simplest wooden bridges were so-called corduroy roads (Swe: kavelbro), which are a reinforcement for simple roads over marsh ground. They consist of logs laid close together across the direction of the road, like sleepers on a railway. The logs distribute the load of a vehicle's weight and prevent it from sinking into the ground, and they were laid directly on the marshy ground. The most common type of actual wooden bridge was some form of beam bridge (Swe: balkbro). Sometimes high wooden abutments were built, such as stone-filled timber caissons. Stone-filled timber caissons were also used in the water for longer bridges. A special type of wooden bridge was the pontoon bridge, (Swe: flottbro), which was especially common in the Dalälven River. A pontoon bridge is a special type of bridge where the roadway is supported by rafts, which float on the water.

Related Links

• Road History, page-2, Terminology • Inns and Stage Services • Summer Pasture • The Conception of Socken (parish) • Domestic Travel Certificates • History of the Swedish Police • History of Railways in Sweden • History of Göta Canal • Old Swedish Units of Measurement • Agricultural Land Reforms, Sweden

Source References

• Vägen i kulturlandskapet, vägar och trafik före bilismen, Vägverket, 2004 • Det gamla Ytterlännäs, Sten Berglund, 1974. Utgiven av Ytterlännäs hembygdsförening. Kapitel 39, sid 368 och framåt. • Hur klövjestigen blev landsväg, Gösta Berg, 1935. (Svenska kulturbilder / Första utgåvan. Andra bandet (del III & IV), sid 269 och framåt.) • Gästgiveri och skjutshåll, Ur det forna reselivets krönika, av Sven Sjöberg. Ur årsboken Uppland, 1959. • Stigen av Lars Levander, 1953 • Svenska Akademins Ordbok, SAOB (Swedish Academy Dictionary) • Wikipedia • Lantmäteriet (The National Land Survey of Sweden) Top of page

Stone Bridges

The oldest stone bridges were simple stone beam bridges (Swe: Stenbalkbro) with a very limited span. They consisted of one or more flat cut stones resting on stone abutments. From the end of the 18th century and for most of the 19th century, the most common type of arched bridge was built of wedged stone in a dry stonewall, i.e. without mortar. At the end of the 19th century, mortar began to be used as a binding agent. At that time, stone arch bridges (Swe: Stenvalvbro) were usually built of smooth-cut stones and stone arch bridges were built until the 1930s. According to a royal decree of 1752, all bridges built with public funds had to be made of stone. The image shows a stone arch bridge in Lerum. Photo: Vänersborg Museum, ID: VMLER0030.

Iron Bridges

The first iron bridge built in Sweden crossed the Göta Canal and was built in 1813 in Forsvik, Västergötland. In the beginning, cast iron was used. It was not until the 1880s that steel road bridges became common. Until the 1920s, when concrete rapidly gained ground, this was the predominant bridge-building material. The most common type of construction was the beam bridge. However, the roadway was usually made of wood.

Concrete Bridges

The first concrete bridges built in Sweden were in 1887 at Jordberga and across the Höje River in Lund, both in Skåne. At the beginning of the 20th century, concrete bridges became common. The Skuru bridge in Stockholm was built between 1914 and 1915 and was the first major bridge to be built in reinforced concrete using modern construction principles. After this, concrete bridges began to displace steel bridges even for larger spans. The image shows the Haraberg bridge (concrete bridge) over the Ljungan River in Kvissleby, Njurunda, south of Sundsvall. Photo: Sundsvall Museum, ID: SuM- foto013586.

Winter Road Maintenance

In the Middle Ages, there was no regular winter road maintenance. The snow-covered road surface was "smoothed down", i.e. the snow was cleared by driving back and forth with a horse and sled (similar to snow rolling). In this way, the road became passable. The first direct mention of winter road maintenance is in the 1687 county governor's instructions. The governors were now given the task of ensuring that roads and bridges were maintained. This did not only apply to summer roads but also to roads "that are used and needed in winter". In winter, farmers took it in turns to keep the private roads open when snow fell. In order to keep track of who was next to do the snowplowing, there was a special system without paper and pen. They had a kind of rallying stick, a so-called plow block or road stick, on which the name or other owner’s marks of those who were to be responsible for plowing were engraved. The person who had made his snowplowing turn then handed over the piece of wood to the next person in line. The image shows a plow block (plogklomp) or road stick (vägsticka) from 1867 in Ytterlännäs, Ångermanland. Image: Det Gamla Ytterlännäs, page 378. It was the village councils (Swe: Byalag) that were responsible for plowing the snow by forming plow teams (Swe: ploglag) consisting of the landowning villagers. The public roads within the parish were divided into lots of different lengths according to the mantal-set land (Seland in Ångermanland) included in the plowing team. The entire length of the roads in the parish was measured, taking into account the difficulty of plowing different parts of the roads. In Ytterlännäs parish, Ångermanland, the snow plowing was regulated in 1866 so that 293.77 feet of the road were placed on each piece of seland-set land in the parish. A village or a few homesteads in a village then formed a plow team whose total number of seland was multiplied by the above-mentioned figure, which then became the length of road for which the plow team was responsible. In total, the whole parish was divided into 24 plow teams, and at the boundary between the different plow teams' stretches, a visible mark was put up. The horse-drawn snowplow is invented in 1730, shortly followed by the road scraper (grader). In open landscapes, avenue trees are planted to mark the road in winter and provide cooling shade in summer. At the beginning of the 20th century, the so-called half-plow was introduced. It was easier to handle and required less traction than the standard wedge- plow. The half-plow consisted of only one plowing side, which meant that one half of the road was plowed at a time. In Lycksele, modern machine plowing was introduced in 1925. Here the first Swedish car plow was demonstrated, a front-end plow called the Lycksele plow. In Sweden, anti-slipperiness measures in the form of road sanding (gritting) on highways were first introduced with car traffic in the 1920s. Gritting was a difficult balancing act between the different needs of car and sled traffic. In 1949, the first tests of anti- slip road salting were carried out in Västmanland.

Introduction

Long ago, roads were not the first choice for travel, either for long journeys or for journeys with heavy goods. Waterways were more important, such as the sea, lakes, and rivers, which were traveled by boat. In winter, when there was snow and frost on the ground and the lakes were frozen, the easiest way to get around was by horse and sled, which allowed the shortest route to be taken over both land and water. On land, there was only a need for paths that could be followed on foot or horseback. At that time, it was enough to simply clear away obstructing bushes and branches in the forest. Paths were avoided on the sunken ground, where temporary obstacles could be found. Rather, paths were built on hills and dry ridges. Where farms or villages were located on watercourses, it was often easier to get around by sea. But as communities grew, there was a need for better connections between them. The Hälsinge Provincial Act from around 1320 already mentions roads, dividing them into public roads and private roads. The former included the road to the district court and the church. So, according to the law, there should be a road to the church, for example. The obligation to build and maintain public roads and bridges lay with the landowners, i.e. the resident peasants. This obligation was later distributed according to each farmer's landholding, i.e. the mantal-set land. It was a fine for neglected road maintenance. In winter, when the ice had settled, roads on land were abandoned in many places, and travel took place on the ice over lakes or by sea. These winter routes were also regulated by law. Natural road staking is the oldest variant where the road follows the natural topography and vegetation. Often these are old narrow paths that have been widened and reinforced over the years to form the road that exists today. These roads are often crooked in both plan and profile. In the second half of the 19th century, there were still many rural villages that lacked access by horse and cart in the summer. In Ytterlännäs parish in southern Ångermanland, the villages of Majaån, Västertorp, and Västansjö had only their footpaths and hoof- paths to reach the main road to Forsed, where they had their summer vehicles for the journey down to the village. It was not until the 1890s that they had a passable road to the villages. The single farm Abborrsjön, further to the east, was roadless until 1936.

Paths and Roads

Footpath

A footpath (Swe: gångstig) or path is a narrow route primarily for pedestrians. Natural paths are common, especially in wooded areas and other areas with "natural" ground vegetation. The natural path has been created by the wear and tear of feet and perhaps once hooves, which has eroded, worn down, and removed ground vegetation along a narrow strip. The presence of the path has then led to further walkers choosing the same route, thus preventing it from growing again. The benefits of choosing an existing path in the woodland are better access and better wayfinding.

Hoof Path

Transport by a pack-animal (Swe: klövja) means placing a load on a pack animal, i.e. transporting a load on the back of a pack animal. The pack animal might be a horse, donkey, ox, reindeer, etc. Often special packsaddles or pack bags are used which hang on both sides of the animal to distribute the weight evenly. Transport by a pack animal is particularly used in rough terrain, where wheeled transport is impossible. A hoof path or hoof trail (Swe: klövjestig) is a path/road on which goods can only be transported loaded on hoofed animals, i.e. a path which is slightly wider than a footpath. The image shows a hoofed trail with pack animals and packsaddle. Hoof trail to summer pastures in Leksand parish, Dalarna. Photo: From “How the hoof path became a road”.

Riding Path/Trail

A trail or path (Swe: ridstig) accessible only to equestrians; as opposed to a footpath or trafficable road.

Cart Road

A cart road (Swe: kärrväg) is a type of small road, often in the woods, used for driving a horse and cart (single-axle) and other simple wheeled vehicles. Unlike a hoof path, a cart track could be used for horse-drawn carts on bare ground, for example by farmers bringing hay home from their fields. The cart track is characterized by two-wheel tracks and a trampled path following the horse's hooves in the middle of the road. Where there was no cart track, winter road transport was often the only option for transporting large quantities of goods.

Wagon Road

Wagon road (Swe: vagnväg); a (constructed) road with two-wheel tracks that could be traveled by horse and wagon; also in more special use, if road for (horse-drawn) wagon transport. A wagon road is a major cart road capable of running with a horse and carriage, i.e. two-axle vehicles. Wagons with wheels allow much higher weight than carrying the load (of a person or an animal), but only if there is a road, otherwise a wagon is of no advantage. A wagon has a superstructure or basket that rests on two axles (sometimes one axle) and usually four wheels and can be driven on a wagon road or highway.

Sunken Lane (Hollow Way)

A sunken lane or hollow way (Swe: hålväg) is a relic of the past consisting of a furrow in the ground where an ancient road passed. The furrow has been formed by the wear and tear of hooves and feet, and by running surface water. In slopes and where different paths could converge towards a ford, there was particularly high wear of feet and hooves in combination with water erosion. There, quite deep tracks could gradually dig into the ground. This type of "road" is called a sunken lane. Many of these have been preserved. The largest system of sunken lanes in Sweden is found near Sandhem Church in Västergötland, where in places there are over 20 parallel "lanes" of hollow roads. The image shows a hollow way in the nature reserve Slereboån Valley near the village of Röserna in Risveden, Västergötland. Photo: Wikipedia.

Highway

A highway (Swe: landsväg) is a major (constructed) public road overland; a main road, linking two or more major towns. “Land” in the Swedish term “landsväg” emphasizes that it is a road overland as opposed to a waterway.

Village Road

A village road (Swe: byväg) is a road leading from a public road (usually a highway) to and through one or more villages or individual farms, i.e. a maintained minor road.

Church Road

A church road (Swe: kyrkväg) is a local road leading to a church.

Courthouse Road

A courthouse road (Swe: tingsväg) is a local road leading to a district courthouse.

National Roads

National road or national highway (Swe: Riksväg) is a classification of roads that exists in several countries. The meaning of the classification varies from country to country, but national roads are often roads that are considered important for the country's infrastructure. In Sweden, roads with road numbers from 1 to 99 are called Riksvägar. Riksvägar are often of a relatively high standard and sometimes pass through several counties. They cover the whole of Sweden. In Sweden, national roads with low numbers are in the south and those with high numbers are in the north. In 1961, the Swedish national highway system was redesigned. Some former national roads became European roads and are counted as a national road with the same number as the European road, but only the European road number is displayed on signposts. The remaining national roads (riksvägar), often with new routes, were re- signed from 1962 with white numbers against a blue background. From 1945 to 1962, the Helsingborg-Stockholm route was called Riksväg 1. The section to the north, i.e. Stockholm-Haparanda, became Riksväg 13. Nowadays this entire stretch is the E4 (Europaväg 4). Från 1945 till 1962 hette vägen Helsingborg–Stockholm Riksväg 1 eller Riksettan. Sträckan norrut, dvs Stockholm–Haparanda blev Riksväg 13 eller Rikstretton. Numera är hela denna sträcka E4 (Europe road 4).

Regional Roads

In Sweden, a county road (Swe: länsväg) is a government-owned public road that is not a National road or a European road. County roads are divided into two categories according to their importance: primary and other county roads. Primary county roads have a common number series throughout Sweden and, despite the name, may cross county borders. Primary county roads are numbered 100-499 and the number is displayed along the road. Other county roads have their own number series in each county, from 500 upwards.

County District Road

In Sweden before 1891, the County district road (Swe: Häradsväg) was a road of lesser importance than a highway but greater than a parish road. A county district road had to be at least 6 Swedish cubits (3.6 metres) wide, but the distinction between county district road and parish road was not very well defined. Under the 1891 Road Act, both the county district road and the parish road were replaced by the rural road (Swe: bygdeväg).

Parish Road

A parish road (Swe: sockenväg) is a comparatively small or narrow public road through a parish, a road that was paid for by the parish (usually 6 Swedish cubits wide) and that mainly served the parish's own needs (as opposed to a highway or a county district road). In 1895 they were officially replaced by the rural road.

Rural Road

A rural road (Swe: Bygdeväg) is the Swedish name for a highway with extra wide shoulders, but only one narrower lane in the middle for cars. The aim is to make life easier for cyclists and pedestrians. The idea is that cyclists and pedestrians should use the shoulders, and car drivers at meetings should be able to use the shoulders if necessary.