The road weather service provided by Fintraffic guides road maintenance activities daily – “Road weather observations are the cornerstone of all decisions”
The Destia Winter Maintenance Management Centre utilises the road weather information provided by Fintraffic on a daily basis, all year round. Fintraffic road weather data makes it possible to carry out maintenance measures in the road network in a timely manner. This helps to save costs. More accurate road weather information allows taking more targeted maintenance measures on roads, contributing to enhanced traffic safety for road users in particular.
When the weather changes, the Destia Winter Maintenance Management Centre will contact its maintenance contractors to initiate the necessary maintenance measures. In their work, Destia experts working at the Winter Maintenance Management Centre use the weather forecasts of the Finnish Meteorological Institute and the road weather information produced by Fintraffic road weather stations. Thanks to the data provided by road weather stations, in winter, maintenance will know when the time is optimal for the maintenance contractor to start ploughing or salting roads.
“The road weather observations provided by Fintraffic are the cornerstone on which all decisions are largely based. No day goes by when road weather data would not be needed. Of course, in the summer we need slightly less weather data, but even then, there are things for which we use weather data. Starting from spring, we conduct gravel road modification and dust binding. In the summer, rainy periods, for example, cause maintenance needs on gravel roads and pavements by making holes on them,” says Seppo Kaarto, Manager at Destia Winter Maintenance Management Centre.
Timeliness of maintenance measures brings savings
There are approximately 450 road weather stations along the Finnish road network. They enable measuring many different things related to weather, such as air temperature, air humidity and road temperature. They also provide information on wind and rainfall intensity. The data also shows the type of precipitation: snow, hail or freezing drizzle, for example. The sensors at road weather stations also show whether the road has been salted or whether it needs to be salted. In addition, the roads are covered by nearly a thousand weather cameras, which, according to Kaarto, provide added value for the situational picture.
In his 40-year career, Kaarto has seen the huge development of road weather systems: observation equipment, weather cameras, telecommunications, software and the system as a whole have gone through major developments. At the same time, the number of observation stations and weather cameras has increased over the years. The weather radar network has also expanded to cover the whole of Finland.
Technology is constantly evolving, enabling also new measurement methods for road weather services. As sensors at road weather stations develop, more versatile data becomes available. In addition, cameras, for instance, keep on developing, which makes the weather camera images increasingly accurate.
“More detailed data brings precision to the management of winter maintenance measures. The benefits provided by Fintraffic’s road weather data are significant for Destia. The data can be used to carry out winter maintenance measures, and, especially, to time them right, which saves costs. Another effect is being able to ensure the safety of the road users, that is, the end users of Finnish roads. These things serve society as a whole.”
