Neste Oil Rally arrangements hamper traffic in Central Finland

Traffic jams and temporary arrangements to be expected

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The largest annual sporting event in the Nordic Countries, the Neste Oil Rally organised in the vicinity of the city of Jyväskylä, will make its presence felt on the roads of Central Finland from Thursday to Sunday.
      Motorists should expect traffic jams, dangerous situations, speed limits, no-stopping zones, temporary traffic arrangements, and diversions galore.
     
The start of the rally at the Killeri harness reacing track is scheduled for 8pm on Thursday night. One special stage will be held at the track in Jyväskylä.
      The increased number of vehicles is expected to slow down traffic on roads and streets in no fewer than 14 municipalities in the Jyväskylä region.
      "Controlled chaos" is the term of choice for traffic technician Kalevi Lehtinen from the City of Jyväskylä to describe the situation, where traffic around the Killeri track will be completely cut off from 7 am until midnight both on Thursday and Friday. Only four separate gates will be left available for the use of local residents. In addition to Killeri, the Paviljonki sports centre in Lutakko will also be closed to general traffic.
      The local police departments, together with the National Traffic Police, will take care of the heightened traffic monitoring and the upholding of general law and order.
      Each year the police catch road hogs of various varieties, DUIs, and reckless drivers who believe they are in charge of a WRC rally machine. A particular cause of annoyance is those who park their vehicles in the wrong places on narrow byroads. The number of rear-end collisions in queues is also expected to rise above average.
      The Finnish Road Administration will closely follow the traffic through automatic monitoring points. The worst traffic jams are expected on Highway 9 in the Jämsä region on Saturday between 2 pm and 7 pm.
      ”At times traffic may come to a complete standstill”, a Road Administration expert predicts.
     
The Neste Oil Rally Finland was for long known as the Rally of a Thousand Lakes, and is a regular feature - at least so far - in the World Rally Championship calendar.
      It attracts a huge audience each year, swelled by the prospect that a Finn is quite likely to be on the podium on Sunday afternoon - Marcus Grönholm and Mikko Hirvonen, both of Ford, are among the favourites to win.


Links:
  Neste Oil Rally Finland
  World Rally Championship
  Traffic Situation in Jyväskylä (Finnish Road Administration)

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