The suitability of new alternative road types for Finland's conditions is being studied as a part of the Finnish Road Administration's strategic project S12 Main road improvement solutions. Finland's first section of three-lane road with a median barrier was opened for traffic in October 2002 on route 54 in Loppi. This follow-up study gathered data and experiences regarding maintenance of this road type during the first winter season of 2002 - 2003. The study also includes monitoring and analysis of the driving conditions prevailing on the road. Road user feedback and the first experiences of the police and rescue services were also reviewed. The three-lane lane section of road is situated on route 54 between the village of Loppi and Launonen about 10 km west of Riihim_ki. The traffic volume of the section is 5500 vehicles/day. The road has a 100 km/h speed limit, which is reduced to 80 km/h during the winter season. A 1.6 kilometer section of westbound overtaking lane with a median barrier was completed in October 2002. An eastbound section was completed in August 2003, and was not in use during this follow-up study. During heavy snowfall the overtaking lane was cleared with two snowplows, but during light snowfall one snowplow, which made an extra pass before continuing on, was sufficient. The median barrier is not particularly difficult from the standpoint of plowing. Only the beginning of the barrier has caused difficulty because the barrier begins after an intersection where the left-turn lane of oncoming traffic causes a bend in the otherwise straight barrier. As a result it is difficult to build up sufficient speed for plowing on the rather steep uphill stretch of road. Because of the unevenness of packed snow it is necessary to use a clearly larger amount of road salt on the overtaking lane than on the main lane. Snow that accumulates under the barrier was melted with road salt a few times during the winter. The three-lane section was graded a couple of extra times over the course of the winter. The amount of winter maintenance work required by the three-lane section is clearly greater than elsewhere on the road. The three-lane section requires 85 % more plowing, 34 % more salting, 28 % more sanding and 60 % more grading than a normal two-lane road. The cost of winter maintenance on the three-lane road is 3,700 Euros/km/yr, which is 48 % greater than the 2,500 Euros/km/yr cost on a normal two-lane road. In a follow-up study of route 5 in Pohjois-Savo it was determined that winter maintenance of a three-lane road is 39 % more costly than that of a two-lane road. By comparing the results of these two studies it appears that a median barrier increases the cost of winter maintenance 5 - 10 % compared with a three-lane road without a median barrier. No damage requiring repair was inflicted on the median barrier in Loppi during the winter season of 2002 - 2003. Quality monitoring of winter maintenance did not reveal quality below the target level. The overtaking lane was covered by an even layer of packed snow and ice during all of January and February, but even then according to the friction values the overtaking lane was in good winter driving condition. At other times the overtaking lane was bare like the other lanes. There has been very little road user feedback regarding the new road type. Plowing and especially grading in the single-lane direction have caused some reactions of impatience in motorists following behind. The overtaking lane begins at an intersection and ends on a section of road that curves to the left. At both ends there have been problems with the end of the median barrier. At the starting end, where the main lane moves slightly toward the right, the traffic divider sign at the start of the barrier has been dented several times and once a motorist drove into the end of the barrier. At the other end of the overtaking lane, where the end of the median barrier is not visible very far in the opposite direction, a few times an overtaking motorist ended up on the wrong side of the barrier, regardless of a no overtaking sign. The situation was corrected during the summer of 2003 by shortening the barrier about 100 meters, whereupon the end of the barrier is visible farther away. When planning three-lane roads with median barriers it is important for the beginning and end of the barrier to be visible sufficiently far away. It is also necessary to plan the driving lines at the ends of the barrier with care.
Abstract