Calculating the impressive amounts of anti-slip materials spread and the number of kilometers covered by them, Road Maintenance AB officially announces the end of the winter season. It is true that not only winter, but also calendar spring was quite changeable - the prevailing heat was replaced by snow throughout Lithuania, so the mechanisms of "Road maintenance" additionally cleaned and sprinkled thousands of kilometers of roads of state importance.
Delivered impressive statistics for the winter season
As noted, the winter season for road users begins no later than November 1 and ends in April. During the last season, Road Maintenance distributed more than 140 tons of ice and snow-melting materials, and covered and cleaned more than 2 million kilometers of country roads.
According to the representatives of Road Maintenance AB, the cold season did not spare any challenges this year - the work was made more difficult by extremely intense snowfall, which started back in November, and difficult traffic conditions posed challenges not only in winter, but also in spring. In December alone, road workers used 11 m408 of solution to reduce slippage, which is equivalent to almost five Olympic-sized swimming pools.
In January, extremely difficult meteorological conditions were announced on national roads. This is done when the temperature does not rise above -20 ℃ within 10 hours. It is true that, in order to ensure the safest possible traffic conditions, road workers used salt of a special composition to reduce slippery roads.
Cleaning roads and applying anti-slip materials are not the only jobs that are done in winter. Abundant snow and changes in air temperature led to the formation of dangerous potholes on national roads. Even before the start of the calendar spring, when the weather conditions were more favorable, AB "Keliu berža" installed a little more than 43 thousand. m2 of plots or more than 180 thousand. pits. In the months of January and February alone, the area of potholes repaired on roads of national significance reached over 36 thousand. m2. In addition, pothole repair works were carried out using more efficient means that allow the use of hot asphalt mixture, thus increasing the benefits created by the repair. For that purpose, the "Road maintenance" asphalt plant was activated.
In the winter season, residents notice that some roads are cleaned and sprinkled more often, others less often, and on still other roads anti-slip materials are not sprinkled, only snow is cleared or the icy surface is roughened. The company reminds that winter maintenance work is divided into 5 different maintenance levels according to traffic intensity and road importance.
New solutions to ensure quality and safety
Quality and safety on roads is one of the strategic directions of AB "Keliau berža". In order to give drivers the opportunity to independently and safely plan their trips during the winter, the company has created an interactive winter road maintenance map. It contains information about the planned and completed snow and ice cleaning and spreading of ice-dissolving materials on roads of national importance, and it is also possible to find out the location of road maintenance equipment on the maintenance routes.
It's no secret that the winter season is one of the most difficult periods not only for drivers, but also for road users. In order to evaluate and ensure the quality of the work performed, this year the daily "photo" analysis was applied. This tactic was used after days characterized by extremely difficult conditions - evaluating where the fulfillment of normative requirements fully met the needs of users, and where, even when fulfilling all the qualitative requirements, the expected result was not achieved. All cases are analyzed, and insights and suggestions for the company's partners are based on them.
Smart technologies are used
In order to ensure a high level of work quality in Lithuania, the experience and technologies of Scandinavian countries are also used. One of the tested innovations this season is the pilot winter work project implemented in the Ukmergė district. During that time, 1 km of roads of state importance were maintained in accordance with the practices of Danish and Swedish road workers - preventive, anti-slippery coating and cleaning works were organized in accordance with IT solution support systems. In the company "Road maintenance" the state of state roads has been predicted for many years by perhaps the world's most advanced road maintenance software, developed by Swedish scientists. The system provides data relevant to road maintenance, which helps to calculate the forecast of the condition of a specific road section 000 hours ahead. All this is done in order to operate efficiently, ensure road safety, consistently organize road maintenance of the entire Lithuanian road network, and implement modern technologies.
Although this winter season was not lacking in challenges, AB "Kelia berža" thanks not only the road workers who worked intensively to ensure safe traffic conditions, but also the drivers who consciously assessed the dynamic winter conditions and behaved responsibly on the roads, protecting not only themselves, but also others road users.
