Solutions for faster development of Forest Roads

Purpose and goal:

The current project aims to develop the forest roads in Sweden to promote fluent transport of forest raw materials even during critical climate conditions and under high gross weight of trucks.

The project will investigate measures to increase the bearing capacity of forest roads (via new technologies for stabilization, drainage and material selection) and test new practical equipment when assessing the condition of new and existing forest roads, especially during freeze-thaw periods. Expected results and effects:

The project covers many areas that can be developed as described below: - Suggestions for modern and efficient operation and maintenance for the forest roads in Sweden.

- In the long run, the project will contribute to develop the forest roads accessibility and rise the accessibility classes of the existing roads.

-If more forest roads will be developed to withstand the heavy gross weight of trucks, this will reduce carbon dioxide emissions as a lower number of trucks will be required to transport the same volume of forest products and herby reduce the climate impact of transport. Approach and implementation:

The project includes a knowledge compilation study on the most recent research available nationally and internationally that the research institutes have come up with so far. The project will be implemented in six work packages:

1- Research and policy compilation 2. Analysis and selection of best practice, innovations and technologies 3. Construction and testing of large-scale pilot roads, 4. Economical and practical use assessment of the chosen solutions, 5. Following up and validation of the pilot roads after construction 6. Documentation and results dissemination.