Improvements for winter maintenance processes

To answer the final research question (“What kind of winter maintenance practices should be continued and developed in the study area? “), recommendations and suggestions for im- proving and developing the winter maintenance were made. Similar to suggestions for im- proving walking and cycling improvement, some of the recommendations are specialized for the study area, some are applicable to locations with similar climate, and some sugges- tions are usable regardless of the location or the type of climate.

Recommendations for improvements to winter maintenance particularly in the study area (i.e. highest priority):

• Ensuring the fulfillment of contracts, improved communication between different

organizations and stricter enforcement

The current instructions for making a contract, and operations and enforcement during contract period are extensive, even though they are somewhat complex. More frequent communication with the contractor to determine agreements about the road condition to improve quality. For example, physically going through the path to show desired results. Quality could also possibly be improved through stricter enforcement. Reporting accord- ing to contracts would also help the ordering organization to focus the attention where needed, and in this case also provide the contractor with valuable data for optimizing their operations .

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• Changeable snow removal tools for different road surface conditions

When used before the freezing of (partly) melted snow, for example snow brushes clear the road surface better than a plow. For larger amounts of snow plows are the best option. On frozen surfaces, ruts should be removed, and the remaining surface roughened with indented blade. Extremely generalized, plows are better for locations where the winters are colder, without freeze-thaw cycles, and salt brushing is better in locations where tem- perature does not go or stay under zero degrees for a longer period.

• Coordinated friction and pollution control of road surface

Currently only gritting is used on the study route. Salt could be used to keep the road surface clear of snow and ice. However, salt should be used as a solution to minimize the negative impacts. Mixing the solution with additives will improve the ice melting qualities and adherence to road. Additives such as molasses and other by-products would also reduce the loss of these products for the manufacturers. Use of salt brine would also eliminate the need for sand collection in springtime and improve air quality during the collection. Properly designed and repaired road would also be puddle free. Environmen- tal impacts of salt could be minimized by constructing subsurface drains under shoulders. Grit of smaller grain size, warm wetted sand, Swiss salty wood chips could also be a suitable solution.

• Proactive maintenance before snowfall for salt use minimization

If salt (brine) is taken into use, it could also be used for proactive maintenance by spread- ing brine onto roads before snowfall, which will make the snow removal after the snow event easier, and also decrease the total amount of salt needed.

• Storage and depot locations, and utilization and updating of stock

Currently the LM-Trac of the contractor could be used for plowing and gritting. How- ever, it is not used for gritting, since it cannot carry enough material to last for the whole study route. Having an additional grit storage nearer the maintenance area could be used to load grit on the combined plow and gritting vehicle, so the route could be maintained with a single vehicle instead of two vehicles performing the plowing and gritting sepa- rately. Evaluation of cost-effectiveness in general could help find sector, where savings could be made, and this money could be used for improved maintenance. Investments considering stock should be targeted at vehicles capable of clearing underpasses as well, but also to enable spread brine. Investing in modular equipment will minimize the num- ber of base vehicles needed.

• Utilization of existing, and development of maintenance management support sys-

tems

Making the most out of the software already in use can be used to improve efficiency and reporting. Developing the system and linking weather and road condition data to it to enable real-time automatic routing and maintenance methods based on priorities and current road conditions will improve the overall efficiency of the contractor and traffic network. For example, advising to spread salt brine on routes prior to snowfall, if the snow is expected to melt anyway after the snow event, otherwise wait for the snowing to end and clear the snow afterwards.

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Recommendations for improving the maintenance of walking and cycling paths in a longer time interval (i.e. policies, strategic development and promoting plans):

• Increasing the priority of maintenance of pedestrian and cycling paths

Cars, trucks and buses can operate on light snow more easily than pedestrians and cy- clists as they have more mass and contact points with the road than pedestrians and cy- clists. Priority of the maintenance routes in the transport system should be reevaluated in accordance with the modal priority in strategic transport system documents on differ- ent administrative levels.

• Adaptivity for the quality requirements

Currently, the requirements are defined almost solely with numerical definitions (for ex- ample snow depth) or loosely (for example “in adequate condition”). In some situations, for example the amount of snow might fulfill the quality requirements, but might not be comfortable to use. Loose definitions should be modified so that there is no chance of misunderstandings, for example with benchmarks. The quality requirements (for roads under the administration of the Finnish Transport Agency) are also defined similarly for the entire country, not taking local factors, such climate into account. By allowing dif- ferent maintenance methods more suitable for local conditions, quality and service level could be improved significantly.

• Increasing winter maintenance budget

Obviously, if contractors have more money to use, they can increase the size of personnel and stock and spend more time on maintenance and management. As previous studies say, investment in winter maintenance most probably will pay itself back in several forms of savings, such as reduced injury treatment costs, health benefit savings etc. • Simplifying administrative procedures

Currently the chain goes through Finnish Transport Agency being responsible for the road and defining methods and quality requirements, Centre for Economic Development, Transport and the Environment being responsible for the operative aspect and monitor- ing for example the maintenance, contractor responsible for performing maintenance and subcontractor doing the actual maintenance. Additionally, prioritizing and developing of roads belonging to the state might become a complex process for local governances, aiming to improve the mobility on a local scale. Dividing parts of the road to be admin- istrated y other organizations could simplify these issues considerably.

• Development of contract models

Currently the roads under the administration of Finnish transport agency are maintained under an areal contract. Dividing some of the roads under a route-specific contract could help optimizing maintenance costs and improve the quality of the route, when the con- tractor maintaining the route may focus and specialize the resources more accurately. • Implementation of road weather data collection systems

Expanding the weather data collection on pedestrian and cycling paths will help keeping track of maintenance areas. Static measuring points are relatively easy to set up, but re- alization of dynamic walking and cycling network weather data collection is challenging, as the weather sensors need electricity. Developing battery-based sensors could solve the

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problem. Other ways to evaluate route condition could be travel time -based estimations using GPS-tracking.