Nivala’s Makkaratie voted Finland’s worst village road
Friday 23rd October 2026 on 05:15 in
Finland
A 13-kilometre road in Nivala, Northern Ostrobothnia, has been voted Finland’s worst village road. Yle reports that Makkaratie, also known as connecting road 7930, won a public photo vote hosted on the Maaseudun Tulevaisuus newspaper’s website.
A jury selected nine finalists from the photos submitted to the competition. The winning image, titled “Impossible to avoid”, was taken by Niko Naukkarinen, a resident of Nivala. He expected the road to place highly because of its poor condition, but said the win still came as a surprise.
Naukkarinen said locals have known for years that the road is in poor condition. He drives on it often and has already ended up with one bent wheel rim. He said grading the road once a year is not enough. Logging trucks and milk tankers also use Makkaratie, making its condition important for local businesses.
Esa Aunola, executive director of the Northern Ostrobothnia Villages association, said every municipality in the region has village roads in poor condition. Makkaratie has been on the repair list for years, while responsibility for road repairs lies with a regional vitality centre.
“The picture of Makkaratie looks more like the surface of the Moon than a public road,” Aunola said. He hoped the competition win would move the road to the top of the repair list.
The annual competition is organised by the Finnish Road Association and the Finnish Villages association. It was held for the fifth time, with the aim of drawing attention to the deterioration of rural roads and its effects.
Simo Takalammi, chief executive of the Finnish Road Association, said funding for road maintenance and upkeep had fallen significantly since the 2000s, and the effects were now becoming visible. Suvi Louhelainen, executive director of the Finnish Villages association, said the rural road network matters to the whole country. About 40 per cent of businesses are located in rural areas, she said, and rural roads carry people as well as goods, raw materials, energy, machinery and emergency vehicles.