There are no current plans to install rockfall protection at Holtshnúp, where a tourist died in March following a landslide.
Minister of Infrastructure Eyjólfur Ármannsson confirmed that funding has been directed toward other road safety projects instead.
No solution established
Ingveldur Anna Sigurðardóttir, deputy MP for the Independence Party and resident of Varmahlíð, have deemed the decision “unacceptable.”
In turn, Eyjólfur responded by saying the site has been reviewed, but is not currently prioritised for safety measures.
“Various designs or solutions have been discussed in this context without it being possible to establish that there is a solution that completely eliminates the risk of rockfall, other than moving the road,” he stated.
No rockfall protection in place
Ingveldur later told local news agencies; “Farmers have been removing rocks from this road, sometimes with notice, sometimes without – despite that, action must be taken there for the residents and tourists who drive this road daily.”
She also expressed concern over the school bus that uses the road multiple times each day, as well as incidents from her own life; “My mom hit a rock right there, about three years ago, in the dark.”
The minister also revealed that only five locations across Iceland currently have rockfall protection systems, despite 96 recorded incidents of rock or snow falling on vehicles over the past 25 years.
Local reports suggest that, in collaboration with the Meteorological Office, some efforts are now underway to begin formally tracking rockfall reports.
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