The road network, Sweden
More and more car drivers are complaining about the standard of the roads and demanding better maintenance, primarily on the less trafficked road network. And statistics support them. Costs for car repairs associated with poor road conditions are increasing rapidly.
According to the autorepair portal autobutler.se, with 220 workshops all over Sweden, the number of road-related vehicle damages has increased by 45 % over the last five-year period.
Damage rates peak in the spring and summer because of potholes, hollows and stone and gravel on the road. Damage is caused to items including tyres, rims, wheel mounts, suspension, shock absorbers and windscreens.
Apart from the inconvenience of having damage repaired, drivers also incur significant costs. One suggestion to address this urgent problem is to display warning signs on roads in poor condition, although in the longer term more comprehensive measures are clearly required.
According to the Swedish Transport Administration, which has an annual budget of just over 400 million EUR for the maintenance of road pavements, roads are being subjected to greater stresses because of increasing changes in the weather.
One example of this is water on the roads repeatedly freezing and thawing. This causes the aggregate under the asphalt to move, resulting in cracks and cavities.
