Keeping a check on winter highway maintenance
The Swedish Transport Administration (formerly the Swedish Road Administration) contracts out snowploughing, sanding and gritting operations to a fair number of companies, whose remit is to generally ensure that roads remain passable. All these contractors have to be forewarned of current road conditions. A single winter in Sweden costs around 1.7 billion SEK, so the contract agreement with the companies has to be based on sound actual data.
The statistics that are computed are used for various indices and for calculating the amount of road grit that should be deployed. This is then compared with the amount of grit and sand that has actually been spread.
Our solution became a high-tech system for collecting meteorological data, such as air and road surface temperature, air humidity, visibility conditions, precipitation, wind direction and wind speed.
Lots of winners
The Swedish Transport Administration has acquired a robust system, with availability in excess of 99% over the last 12 years. Our highway environment has been improved thanks to more efficient use of grit and sand. Reduced corrosion of vehicles and road signs, etc., contributes to the positive environmental impact this has had. Operating costs have become significantly lower and road safety has increased.
This has become possible because those involved can now be proactive in their response. The contractors can be forewarned in good time when a cold front is approaching. The system is also used for controlling variable speed limit signs based on weather and road conditions.
