The network of road weather stations is being extended and modernized
Next year, 30 new road weather stations (hereinafter – RWS) are planned to be installed on the roads of national importance. The new RWSs will be installed in the places of the roads of national importance which are selected taking into account the importance of the road, the traffic volume, the level of maintenance, as well as the density of the existing RWSs and geographical circumstances, which affect planning of winter road maintenance works.
Modernization of 126 existing RWSs is also planned in 2023. After modernization of the stations, even more accurate information about the state of the roads and traffic conditions will be received.
After the network of RWSs will be expanded and modernized, more points on roads will be monitored, more precise recommendations for road maintenance actions will be provided to services and relevant information for drivers about the state of roads and traffic conditions.
According to Darius Ražinskas, director of the Intelligent Transport Systems and Road Charging Department of the Road Administration, more and accurate data transmitted by RWSs will help ensure more effective maintenance of roads of national importance and safer road communication in the winter period: after having received more accurate information about road weather conditions, road maintenance specialists will be able to make objective decisions about road sections, which need to be cleaned or applied with sand. The road maintenance services will also be able to plan optimal road maintenance routes, which is also important from an ecological point of view, because this would help reduce not only the environmental impact of vehicle exhaust gases, but also the impact of salt mixes as the salt mixes would be sprinkled exactly where they have to be sprinkled.
RWSs collect information about weather and condition of the road surface, such as the road surface temperature, air temperature, dew point, relative humidity, wind direction, wind speed, wind gusts, intensity of precipitation, type of precipitation, visibility, condition of the road surface, image of the road surface.
Based on data received from RWSs, the Information Department of the Road Administration prepares on the daily basis notifications for the public on the state of the roads and traffic conditions. The said data is also provided regularly to AB Kelių priežiūra, which is responsible for maintenance of roads of national importance.
From October 15, the operators of the Information Department work under the winter regimen and focus on monitoring the road state and prompt informing of drivers about the traffic conditions, which are often changing in autumn and winter. Notifications on the state of the roads and traffic conditions are published on the website eismoinfo.lt at least twice a day, and when the weather changes and traffic conditions are becoming more difficult, then the notifications are published four times or even more often when needed. On the website eismoinfo.lt drivers can find information about road restrictions due to works or traffic accidents.