To meet the criticism the Swedish National Road Administration (SNRA) has received for its winter road maintenance, a project involving extended dialogue between the SNRA, road users, commercial traffic and other stakeholders was conducted in the Northern Road Administration Region of the SNRA. Criticism had been voiced via direct contact, in the media, by the police and was also revealed in the market surveys conducted by the regional road authorities. The standard of winter road maintenance prior to the project followed the general technical specifications contained in DRIFT96 [Maintenance Specifications 1996]. The aim of the project was to determine the views and needs of road users and different stakeholders as well as find out what they wanted as far as winter road maintenance is concerned through conducting an open dialogue. This pilot project was initiated in 1999. The trial was carried out on County Roads 651 and 726 from Sikea to Bygdsiljum over Robertsfors, a total of 33 km. The traffic volume is between AADT 700 - 1500 and the proportion of heavy traffic is considerably above normal for this type of road. The project team began by determining the different categories of road user that were affected by any kind of winter road maintenance along the roads concerned. Once the various stakeholders had been ascertained, representatives for the different groups were invited to become part of a target group for the proposed dialogue on the standard of winter road maintenance. The external part of the project was launched by a market survey comprising some 500 people. The market survey and the target group meetings basically gave the same message: current snow plough stretches are too long and take too long to plough.What is done today in the case of "extreme snowfall" is beneath all contempt. Sanding takes too long. All cause too much rutting on winter roads. Very poor route guidance signs, causing dangerous close calls in the winter. Too low a standard with respect to the removal of snow to improve sight conditions, snow removal and the care and maintenance on walkways as well as other works in urban areas. Once all the viewpoints had been collected, the SNRA presented a proposal for the target groups to approve. Great importance was then attached to ensuring that the works executed complied with what had been approved. The different stakeholder groups, which sometimes had conflicting needs, learned to understand one another better as well as the position of the SNRA. Very good results were achieved by the SNRA that test year, which was also seen in the commentaries in the local press. The number of complaints on the test stretch decreased radically. The target groups have said that they would like the standard offered to continue to apply this winter as well, with certain adjustments. The 20% increase in cost for winter maintenance compared to previous winters can probably be compensated through changes in future contracts. The project results clearly show that the SNRA receives considerably greater understanding and acceptance for its activities if winter road maintenance is carried out in dialogue with stakeholders. For the covering abstract see ITRD E135448.
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