Evaluating Countermeasures Against Heavy Snowfall Affecting Road Traffic in Japan

This article evaluates socioeconomic losses relating to road traffic during major snowfalls, taking into consideration snow removal operations and timeline differences, and it checks the validity of the methods and timing of snow countermeasures currently being implemented. By doing so, it aims to help build a better snow removal system and to minimize losses due to major snowfalls.

Conclusions Drawn From the XVth International Winter Road Congress, Gdansk, February 20th-23rd, 2018

The XVth International Winter Road Congress, which took place in Gdansk (Poland) February 20th through 23rd, 2018 at the Amber Expo Convention Center, attracted over 1,000 participants from 42 countries, in featuring the attendance of four Transport Ministers (from Poland, Japan, Lithuania and Montenegro) and many Directors of Roads. They were treated to a program of 139 oral presentations, 170 posters, 52 exhibitors and 21 of the world’s best snow plow drivers, who enjoyed a friendly and now [...]

A Technical Description of LARS and Lumi: Two Apparatus for Studying Tire-Pavement Interactions

The controllability of a vehicle equipped with tires decreases under certain circumstances. One of these circumstances is in winter, where snow and ice affect tire-pavement interaction and thus friction. In such conditions, the control of the vehicle might be lost, which results in longer braking distances or unsafe steering. The presence of snow, ice, water, sand or chemicals makes the interaction between tire and pavement extremely complex. As interfacial property, the frictional phenomenon, depends [...]

Measuring Sustainability in Winter Service Operations

Sustainability has been an area of growing importance in the transportation field over the past two decades. In the United States, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) now provides an online tool that allows agencies to assess their performance in transportation design and operations, and include examples of how agencies have made use of the checklist based tool that the FHWA provides. The challenge for agencies charged with winter maintenance is that tools such as provided by FHWA are very [...]

A Winter Maintenance Manual for the Finnish Transportation Agency

In 2016, the Finnish Road Administration (FTA) initiated a project to describe the best current practices and winter maintenance methods entitled the “Winter Maintenance Manual”. The target group for the manual is winter service professionals, contractors, subcontractors, quality assurance personnel and FTA contract managers without previous experience in maintenance works. The manual also gives an overall understanding of how maintenance contracts are designed and what knowledge is expected [...]