The Road Has to Go Somewhere: The Importance of Narratives and Justification Work in Road Policy Implementation

ABSTRACT Large‐scale road infrastructure projects are key arenas for public policy implementation. This study examines the E6 motorway through Melhus municipality in Trøndelag, Norway, to identify three policy narratives arising from the complex and conflicting considerations in infrastructure development. The theoretical objective of this study is to use the Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) in combination with theories of justification to uncover underlying moral and cultural logics present in policy implementation. This theoretical innovation advances the NPF by introducing a deeper understanding of the normative principles upon which the descriptive morals identified by the NPF rest. The interpretive case study illustrates this theoretical innovation, by showing how policy narratives in large‐scale infrastructure projects constitute a process inherently political and normatively charged. On this basis, we argue that the NPF, when enriched by justification theory, can be valuable in analyzing not only policy formulation but also policy implementation.