Arctic Finnish firm wins US award for road maintenance technology
Technology developed by Roadscanners, a company based in Rovaniemi, Finnish Lapland that specialises in traffic infrastructure management, was recognised by the Washington-based International Road Federation on Thursday.
The award was granted to a joint project between Roadscanners and the Finnish Transport Agency, which aims to increase the life cycle of road surfaces.
The company developed technology for locating weak spots in road surfaces, diagnosing the cause of the problem and repairing them before serious damage occurs.
Billions spent on road maintenance in Finland
Finnish authorities currently spend between 130 and 150 million euros annually to maintain the country’s 50,000-odd kilometres of paved roads. Meanwhile, spending on upkeep of the highway network is estimated at upwards of one billion euros.
As a result of a three-year project, the annual cost of maintaining road surfaces at a test site in Lapland and Central Finland fell by 10 to 36 percent. This year, the test area expanded to include Hyvinkää in southern Finland’s Uusimaa region.
The company aims to lower maintenance costs by 50 percent overall by the year 2025.
Related stories from around the North:
Canada: How Northwestern Inuit led construction of Canada’s highway to Arctic Ocean, Cryopolitics Blog
Faroe Islands: Underwater tunnels revolutionize transport in the Faroe Islands, Cryopolitics Blog
Finland: Finland’s roads crumble after worst thaw in 20 years, Yle News
Russia: Smelters, huskies, and fish pies: the Arctic road from Norway to Russia, Cryopolitics Blog
United States: ‘The permafrost is dying’: Alaska city sees increased shifting of roads and buildings, Alaska Dispatch News
