There are more than 1500 sea islands in Estonia. About 9 of these have significant population year around. Normally you can take a regular ferry ora small boat to get on these. In the winter if the temperature has been below zero for some time, the ice starts covering the sea near the shore. If the ice is strong enough local people start using ice to get to the mainland faster and cheaper. Unfortunately, if there is nobody responsible forsafety, people's lives may be in danger. To ensure the safety, local RoadAuthorities or counties have taken the control. The rules and conditions how to establish and operate the ice road are determined in the Decree of Ministry of Economics and Communications. In recent years there have been seven official ice roads in Estonia. But in some winters none have been opened and very rarely all seven are opened. The ice road Rohukuela - Vormsiconnects the island Vormsi with the mainland. Vormsi is the fourth islandin Estonia by the size, with the territory of 93 km2. The population is over 300. Vormsi is located in the West-Estonian archipelago. As a conclusion the ice road I have described here and also the others used in Estonia are very popular. For some users it is an exotic adventure, for the othersit gives more freedom and last but not the least the amount of ferry departures can be reduced and that gives a significant economy for the budget.For the covering abstract see ITRD E143097.
Samenvatting