Current winter maintenance costs are approximately 2 billion SEK per annum, but good monitoring tools to ensure that this money is distributed and used effectively are lacking. The purpose of this study was to develop a basis for new regulations for when action is required to maintain good winter road standards and how payment to the entrepreneurs should be regulated to provide a more efficient winter road maintenance. The Swedish Road Weather Information System (RWIS) was introduced as an aid for winter road maintenance in the late 1970s. The service expanded during the next two decades and today comprises of around 800 stations situated around the Swedish state road network. Measurements include air and road surface temperature, wind direction and speed, and precipitation type and amount. Many of the stations are also equipped with cameras that can be used to assess road surface conditions. Together with weather forecasts, information from RWIS stations is used as the main basis for decision making regarding the need for winter road maintenance. The first step in system improvement is to fully understand how the current system operates. This report summarises the broad outlines of how reporting, regulatory frameworks, and reimbursement models work for winter road maintenance. There are a number of relatively new techniques that could be used to optimise winter road maintenance. These new techniques could help produce a more efficient winter road maintenance programme that reduces the cost to society. The technological developments have moved forward in recent years in a number of areas such as the motor vehicle industry and also in non-contact sensors for measuring friction and road surface temperature. This technology can be used in conjunction with RWIS to give a clear indication of when and where maintenance action is required. This could also provide an opportunity to design a decision support system that could assist road maintenance contractors. (Author/publisher)
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