- It feels good when they do not go here in the village, says Bo-Eskil Wilstorf.
When the mine in Pajala started, residents in Vittangi were forced to pass heavy ore trucks as soon as they took a walk.
The ore transports swept through society as often as every quarter.
The Tornedal rally disappeared from Vittangi
Last spring, the Swedish Transport Administration began the project bypassing Vittangi.
Among other things, they wanted the residents to avoid the heavy traffic, and to avoid more accidents on the accident-prone road.
Prior to the redevelopment, however, there was some concern among the residents.
How would trade really be affected?
At the OKQ8 petrol station, it was expected to lose half of its turnover.
But that did not happen.
- During the winter and weekdays we have our regular customers, so then we have not lost so much, but during weekends and summer when Kiruna residents go to Tornedalen, what we call Tornedalsrallyt, we have lost more, says Monika Oxenius, station manager.
The grocery store was not affected
At Coop, no change in turnover has been noticed since the road was rebuilt.
- Then we do not know if the pandemic has affected that we have kept up sales, says store manager Veronica Laestadius.
In the video above, you can hear what residents in Vittangi think about the heavy traffic disappearing.