Project: Sustainable maintenance of gravel road

Project information

Project manager
Mirka Kans
Other project members at Linnaeus University
Lars Håkansson, Jaime Campos
Participating organizations
Linnaeus University, Linköping University, Statens väg- och transportforskningsinstitut, Bryne AB, Rolf Johanssons Schakt & Transport AB, Tingsryds Industriteknik AB, Dasa Control Systems AB, Zenta AB, the municipality of Tingsryd, Riksförbundet enskilda vägar, Maskinentreprenörerna
Financier
The Kamprad Family Foundation
Timetable
1 Sept 2018- 30 June 2021
Subject
Terotechnology (Department of mechanical engineering, Faculty of technology)
Informatics (Department of informatics, Faculty of technology)

More about the project

More than 100,000 kilometers of gravel road exists in Sweden. The gravel roads are a prerequisite for a living countryside – without them, it would have been difficult to conduct business and live in the in rural areas. In order for the roads to keep good standard and to be manageable, continuous maintenance is required: gravel roads must be cut and supplied with new gravel, which deplete the finite natural resources and requires long transports of material.

Reducing the proportion of new gravel needed for maintenance, while achieving more durable maintenance of the gravel roads, gives environmental benefits in directly reduced material and energy use. Indirectly, a more efficient maintenance plan can also reduce environmental impact.

Road owners often lack information about road conditions; by collecting this kind of information, better decisions could be made regarding road operations and maintenance. If maintenance is coordinated between different road owners, the maintenance equipment could be used effectively.

This project develops new methods and technologies for gravel road maintenance. We will develop and evaluate innovative technical solutions for reuse of gravel and digital tools that provide better decision support for planning and maintenance work. Moreover, we will study maintenance activities from an ecosystem perspective in order to best coordinate all involved actors. The goal of the project is to deliver a completely new concept for gravel road maintenance that is developed, manufactured and evaluated by the local business community and academia in collaboration.