The Swedish forest roads play a crucial role both for society in general and for the forest industry in particular. Sweden’s road network is dominated by private roads. Of the total road network, about 14,000 miles are state roads, 4,000 miles are municipal roads and the remainder, about 43,000 miles, are private roads. Of these private roads, about half, or about 21 000 miles, are forest roads. Private roads are not maintained by the state or municipalities, but by, for example, road associations, individual landowners or other organizations.

The maintenance of individual roads has been and still is inadequate, contributing significantly to their continued deterioration. In addition to poor maintenance, there are other reasons why the road network has deteriorated recently. Climate change has resulted in shorter winters in northern Sweden, and in the southern parts of the country, roads can no longer be expected to be tarred during the winter. This means that a greater proportion of forestry transport is on untarred roads, which has led to increased stress on the roads as measures to increase load-bearing capacity have not been carried out to a sufficient extent. Other problems arising from climate change are that it rains more and the rain that comes is more intense. The motto that water is the worst enemy of the road still applies today. More rain combined with poorly maintained ditches and undersized culverts has resulted in weaker roads. In some extreme cases, the increased rainfall combined with poor drainage has even made some roads unusable as parts of the road have been washed away by the increased water.

Furthermore, a large part of our forest roads were built during the period 1950-1990 and these roads were then built for lighter vehicles than those that use the roads today. As vehicles have become heavier and larger, wear and tear has increased because the roads have not been upgraded to the higher demands of modern vehicles.

It has become a perfect storm. Roads have not been maintained to the extent needed, climate change has reduced the carrying capacity of roads, and vehicles have become heavier and larger.

Road maintenance is a good investment

Road maintenance and upgrading involve costs, but the benefits of strong and good roads far outweigh the costs.

• Higher net felling. Areas that can be harvested most of the year are very valuable to industry. Therefore, timber from these areas is better paid for, especially if they are close to good roads.
• Reduced costs for harvesting and forest management.
• Fire protection. A well-maintained forest road without vegetation can act as a fire barrier and facilitates access for heavy emergency vehicles.
• Forestry measures are implemented at the right time. If the forest stands are easy to access and inspect, the likelihood of timely action increases.
• Protection against forest damage. Good accessibility allows timely action to be taken and thus reduce the extent of damage.

The sum of all the above means that the value of a forest property increases significantly if it is located on good roads. In addition, the road serves many other purposes, such as providing better access for outdoor recreation, hunting, fishing and mushroom picking.

The solution

The situation is not hopeless, but we must act now if we are to get our roads to cope with what they are intended for, and this means that large parts of Sweden’s road network need to be adapted to the new conditions. Road maintenance must increase, while some roads need to be upgraded to a higher standard to cope with a changing climate and heavier transport. This will mean increased costs for road maintenance, raising the standard with more gravel on the roads and larger road culverts. Systematic road maintenance and inspection of both roads and bridges will become increasingly important to keep road costs down. Road managers need to get an overview of their roads, where the weak spots are and where maintenance measures are needed. Taking action at the right time is crucial for economic and rational road maintenance. Just like not repairing a broken roof on a house, a road deteriorates quickly if it is not maintained or renovated when needed. Fixing a road that is in an advanced state of deterioration can often be almost as expensive as building a new road.

Perhaps the most important measure to raise the standard of roads is to create an orderly management of the roads. As mentioned earlier, road maintenance and upgrading involves costs for the road manager, which in many cases can be difficult to finance for a single road owner. Organizing and managing roads jointly is the best way to gain sufficient financial strength so that road measures can be carried out in a timely manner and on a sufficient scale.

Effective and systematic road maintenance requires good system support. Often, poor management is due to low commitment and limited road expertise within the road associations. Having a reliable system for planning, budgeting and monitoring makes administration easier for the road manager and increases the likelihood that the right measures are implemented at the right time. A good system makes the work of road operation and maintenance both more fun and more engaging, promoting greater commitment within road associations.

Icebound has developed a product, Road Report, which is both powerful and user-friendly. The system enables a detailed inventory of the road network, which forms the basis for determining the necessary measures. With these measures as a starting point, the road association can create a budget for future road measures. Work orders can then be generated digitally and sent to contractors to carry out the work. The contractors can then report back when the measures are completed and inform about any shortcomings and deviations. This system ensures efficient and transparent management of road maintenance, facilitating both planning and implementation.

(ed. note . Since the article was written, we have also released a new, even more professional concept – ProLocate RMS, which is aimed at operators with larger road systems to manage).

By: Gustav Karlefors, Forester
Evangelist Forest Roads & Strategic Project Manager – Icebound
gustav.karlefors@icebound.com

Umeå – 2024-10-15