This project, carried out by the Swedish Road and Traffic Research Institute, VTI, and the Department of Highway Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology, CTH, were granted funds by the Swedish Transport Research Board to study the extent to which the safety and trafficability of road users depends on maintenance actions and prevailing weather and road conditions, and to carry out questionnaire surveys of road user attitudes and awareness concerning winter road maintenance. Changes in winter road maintenance were studied in defined test zones in six urban areas. The effects of the changes were studied by means of comparisons with control zones. The study was carried out over four winter seasons. The changes in winter road maintenance were found not to lead to any statistically significant changes in safety. However, a strong relations between maintenance actions and trafficability was observed.
Abstract