The purpose of the preliminary study, realised by Transport Research Centre Verne, was to find out what are the most important development needs in winter road maintenance in Nordic countries in the point of view of different stakeholders. Information was gathered with interviews, workshops, Internet-surveys and literature review. The goal was to prepare the realization and content of a broader winter maintenance research program. The study was funded by Finnish Transport Agency, Finnish Transport Safety Agency (Trafi) and three Finnish municipalities: Jyväskylä, Lappeenranta and Helsinki. The project was realized in close co-operation with the Nordiskt Vägforum (NVF) and Finnish Road Association.
Even though Nordic countries already do co-operation in winter maintenance there still is a chance to strengthen the co-operation and knowledge exchange between different stakeholders. As a result from the preliminary study a base project for the start of the research program is planned to be realized. During the base project the goal is to strengthen the co-operation in winter maintenance in Nordic countries, collect information of winter road maintenance research into one portal and create a base for co-operation in research. At the same time it is possible to consolidate the know-how and competence of winter maintenance in the point of view of different stakeholders.
