[iceland today] roads, giant iceblocks and kinder

Three classics today from Iceland Review:

Roads in Iceland to improve

Minister of Transport Sturla Bödvarsson announced this morning that the government is going to increase funding for road construction projects through 2010 to improve Iceland’s road system. The announcement was made at a meeting organized by the Federation of Trade and Services this morning. This story is reported on mbl.is.

Bödvarsson also said too many roads in Iceland are still unpaved, which he would like to work on, and he would also like to see increased load bearing capacity, more tunnels and wider roads. Due to heavy industry projects this year, the Minister said there has not been much focus on road improvement operations.

I can just see the fearless reporter now, sitting with the Minister, notebook at the ready.

Ambulance hit by huge ice blocks

An ambulance transporting a patient from Akranes to Reykjavík was severely damaged yesterday when giant ice blocks flew from the roof of a truck and hit the front of the emergency vehicle. According to Morgunbladid, no one was harmed in the accident, which took place near Mosfellsbaer, outside Reykjavík.

The ambulance driver, Gísli Björnsson, told Morgunbladid that the ice blocks had suddenly come flying towards him. He said that if the heavy ice blocks had crashed through the windscreen of the ambulance, he would probably have been killed. Police told Morgunbladid that truck drivers, as all other drivers, should remove snow and ice from the roof of their vehicles to prevent accidents like this.

Kindergarten staff shortage in Reykjavík

The capital’s kindergartens are short on staff, resulting in an increased burden on parents and a more dangerous environment for children. Hanna Birgisdóttir, a teacher at Gullborg kindergarten in Reykjavík, told Bladid that her kindergarten is short of at least three full-time staff members.

Birgisdóttir says with less staff children have less supervision when playing outside and could get hurt more easily. Birgisdóttir says the current staff and parents do their best to cooperate, but without support from the authorities, she says the situation is unlikely to improve. Bladid reports this.