1. Road Maintenance in Estonia
Ladies and Gentlemen! The following overview is accomplished by the speaker and his boss Mr Rain Hallimäe, Head of Road Management Division of Estonian Road Administration.
As our Director General Mr Sõrmus already reported, Estonian Road Administration weathers a lot of changes.
Due to general reorganisation of road management set-up in Estonia, the arrangement of road maintenance was also essentially remodelled. The key words in the sphere were “privatisation of equipment” and “contract-based maintenance” and so today Estonian Road Administration and its subdivisions (regional agencies) have entirely turned into customers and private companies are acting as performers.
Reorganization of Road Operations Management in Estonia
Rain Hallimäe, Jüri Valtna
Estonian National Road Administration
Raod Management Department
Rain Hallimäe, Jüri Valtna
Estonian Road Administration
Road Maintenance Division

2. Estonian road network in 2007
Total km
National roads km
Main roads km
Basic roads km
Secondary roads km
Ramps and collecting roads km
Density of national roads km per km2
Local and private roads km
Urban roads and streets km
The density of national roads that we are dealing with is 379 km per km2 of Estonian area and that’s a lot for a small country like ours. To keep the roads going, it needs heaps of time, money and much trouble, as you all know.

3. Principles of road maintenance (1)
Basic approach
Routine service
Retain repairs
Periodic service
good
required level
 Basic approach to the road maintenance can be described as follows. The condition of road fluctuates constantly around the required level. Doing routine service (that is patching, cleaning of ditches, gravel road planning etc.) performed every day or as often as required, the condition of pavement deteriorates anyway. Periodic service (that is surface dressing, digging of new ditches, small repairs of gravel roads etc.) helps bring it up now and then, but does not principally stop deterioration. The retain repairs must be done time after time to improve the condition of the pavement. And then the new cycle starts again.
bad

4. Principles of road maintenance (2a) Types of operations
Routine service:
The aim of routine service is to ensure the required service level of
roads.
The works include: patching, crack sealing, strip and spot surface
dressing, shoulders ordering, grass mowing, gravel road planning,
brushwood cutting, cleaning of ditches, maintenance of culverts,
marking of roads, maintenance of traffic signs and marker posts,
winter service works.
As the former slide already hints, in Estonia, road maintenance works are classified into three groups: routine service, periodic service and retain repairs, the content of which are detailed in the relevant Directive of Director General of ERA. As this slide shows, the aim of routine service is to ensure the required service level of roads. There is no counting of volume of work that has to be done; the attainment of the required service level is that counts. (I will talk about service levels a bit later). The routine service works are listed on this slide and include: patching, crack sealing, grass mowing, gravel road planning, cleaning of ditches, maintenance of culverts, marking of roads, maintenance of traffic signs, and all winter service works.

5. Principles of road maintenance (2b) Types of operations
Periodic service:
The aim of periodic service is to rehabilitate the worn-out parts of the
road.
The works include: repair of the embankment, dust binding, digging
of new ditches, construction of culverts, installing of new traffic
signs and boards and safety barriers, repairs of gravel roads in
small extent; surface dressing of paved roads. The works are done
by the yearly Bill of Quantities fixed before May, 01.
Retain repairs:
The aim of retain repairs is to keep gravel roads in good condition
until the renewal.
The works are done by the yearly Bill of Quantities fixed before
April, 01.
The aim of periodic service is to rehabilitate the worn-out parts of the road. Here the certain works, the amount of which is prescribed by the contract, must be done. The payment is made according to the monthly based Statement of Executed Works which the contractor composes and submits to the customer. The periodic service works are listed on this slide. The retain repairs have principally the same character as periodic service, but in the latest contracts concentrate only to keeping the gravel roads in good condition until the renewal of these roads. Both periodic service works and retain repairs are done by the yearly fixed Bill of Quantities.

6. Requirements for the state of roads (1)
Both in summer and winter the requirements for the state of roads depend on the importance of the road and traffic flow;
There are 4 service levels;
The requirements for the 4th level are most strict and for the 1st level the modest.
The requirements for the road condition are determined in Estonia by a Legal Act. The requirements for the state of roads in winter season and in summer season depend on road category and traffic flow. While describing the principles of routine service, a term “service level” popped up. There are altogether 4 service levels. The requirements for the 4th level are most strict and for the 1st level the modest.

7. Requirements for the state of roads (2)
Summer service levels
paved roads gravel roads
Winter service levels
unified for paved and gravel roads
In the aforementioned Legal Act on state of roads, the service levels in summer season are separately termed for the paved roads and for the gravel roads. The winter season service levels are unified for the paved roads and for the gravel roads.

8. 1st service level. Paved road in summer
The essence of service levels is determined visually. To liven up the presentation I’ve got here a photo from last summer. This paved road meets the requirements for the 1st service level. Although the road is newly surface dressed, it has high roughness index, some loose chipping, the shoulders are not consolidated and there is no road marking.

9. 3d service level. Paved road in summer
As service level 4 is adapted to highways and in Estonia we have only approximately 100 km of highways, the 3d service level is typical required condition for the basic roads. In this photo the part of basic road nr 2, our main north – south-east traffic vein, is depicted. The pavement is smooth, the road marking is correct and the shoulders are solid. By the way, this section had quite deep ruts in spring. A brand new technology in Estonia – microsurfacing (it’s a variation of slurry seal technology) was used to fill the ruts and as you can see it has worked well. The filling consists of granite chippings and polymer-modified bitumen emulsion and is even and coarse, looks neat and last but not least is moderately pricy.

10. Requirements for the state of roads (3)
Summer service
Paved roads:
condition of pavement (evenness [IRI], cracks, pot holes, ruts);
road security (road markings, sign posts);
range of side visibility;
performance of summer service works (mowing).
Gravel roads:
condition of surface (cross-fall, evenness, ruts);
I told a couple of slides aback that the service levels in summer season are separately termed for the paved roads and for the gravel roads, but the winter season service levels are unified for the both types. The requirements for the state of roads for the paved ones in summer season take into account the following characteristics: condition of the pavement (expressed by the evenness, lack of cracks, pot holes, ruts); road security (expressed by the existence of road markings, sign posts); range of side visibility and performance of certain service works (mowing for instance). The requirements for the state of roads for the gravel ones in summer season take into account the condition of surface (cross-fall, evenness, depth of ruts), range of side visibility and again performance of certain service works.

11. Requirements for the state of roads (4)
Winter service
general state of road surface (snow-clearing, anti-skid treatment);
assurance of required friction coefficient;
maximum permitted thickness of snow layer (dry snow, wet snow, sleet, salt-snow mix) on the road;
unevenness of road surface caused by snow or ice (ruts, traffic-thickened snow).
The requirements for the state of roads in winter take into account the general state of road surface (snow-clearing, anti-skid treatment), assurance of required friction coefficient, maximum permitted thickness of snow layer (will it be dry snow, wet snow, sleet or salt-snow mix) on the road and unevenness of road surface caused by the snow or ice (expressed by the ruts and traffic-thickened snow). The service levels I mentioned before, are determined by these characteristics.

12. Information on road and weather conditions
Contractors
(Road Offices)
Road weather stations
Estonian Meteorological and Hydrological Institute
Now some words about how the information on road and weather conditions circulate. Contractors (and recently also the Road Offices who performed maintenance works by themselves) send information on road condition and repairs, changes in local traffic arrangements and roadblocks to the Road Information Center. The information on air and road surface temperature, air humidity, wind speed etc. is received from Road Weather Stations and bad weather warnings from Estonian Meteorological and Hydrological Institute. According to the obtained information, Road Information Center prepares in winter twice daily and in summer once daily a press-release to the media channels. So a road user can get information on road and weather conditions by the media channels or calling straight to Road Information Center (24-hour service) or visiting corresponding web sites.
ROAD INFORMATION CENTER
Media channels
Road users

13. General principles of maintenance contract (1)
summer and winter service enclosed into the same contract;
duration of the contract 4-5 years years;
integral parts of contract: routine and periodic service; + retain repairs (since 2007);
routine service – amount of work given must ensure the required condition of the road (service level). Paid performance-based;
periodic service, retain repairs – prescribed amount of works must be carried out. Paid by unit prices;
As a result of a long lasting reorganization of road management in Estonia, we now enjoy fully contract based road maintenance.
The general principles of maintenance contract are:
Summer and winter service are enclosed into the same contract;
Term of a contract is reasonably long. In first contracts “long” was considered to be 4 or 5 years, in the latest ones it is prolonged to 8 or 9 years.
Routine and periodic service together with retain repairs are integral parts of a contract.
The routine service is paid performance-based. The operations made must ensure the required condition of the road.
The periodic service works and retain repairs are paid by unit prices. The agreed amount of works must be carried out.

14. General principles of maintenance contract (2)
payment for maintenance works is accomplished in monthly basis in accordance with the “Financing Schedule” (annex to the contract);
deductions from payable sums are made due to low quality of performance, discovered during supervision;
customer has right to collect penal fine if the maintenance documentation is not submitted in due time (detailed in contract);
The prices of operations and works change every year in accordance with the Road Operation Price Index (in former contracts Construction Price Index) published by the Statistics Estonia;
6. Payment for the work carried out is accomplished in monthly basis in accordance with the “Financing schedule” which is an annex to the contract.
7. If the contractor has failed to ensure the required service level or have the periodic service works and retain repairs shown low quality, the deductions from payable sums are made.
8. Contractor must pay penalty if the documentation is not submitted in due time.
9. The prices of different operations and works are subject to change every year in accordance with the Road Operation Price Index published by the Statistics Estonia.

15. Supervision of road operations (1)
Road Operations Supervision Guide (approved by the Directive of Director General of ERA);
Contractors are obliged to devise and implement the internal plan for quality assurance of maintenance works
Supervision of road operations
Contractor’s supervision Customer’s supervision
In the previous slide I had a remark on deductions from payable sums due to failed efficiency of work. It’s the task of supervision to check the quality of performance. Supervision is carried out on the basis of the “Road Operations Supervision Guide” which is approved by the Directive of Director General of ERA. Contractors are obliged to develop the internal plan for quality assurance of maintenance works and customer has to perform owner’s supervision.

16. Supervision of road operations (2)
Two categories of supervision :
daily supervision: selective checking whether the service level is obtained;
monthly supervision: checking if the road conditions fulfil the requirements to the specified service level and maintenance contracts in the whole area
Supervision is divided into 2 groups: daily inspections and monthly inspections. The concept of daily inspection is to make a selective check whether the service level is obtained. The route to be inspected is chosen according to the principle of importance by the customer’s specialist who does the supervision. The rule is to check the roads where the biggest shortcomings may occur. Selecting the route of inspection, the supervisor proceeds from standpoint that at first these roads should be inspected where the road users have made complaints over the poor condition of driving or where recently repairs have been made or which are under repair or have any other reasonable cause to inspect.
The concept of monthly inspection is to check if the state of roads fulfil the requirements to the specified service level and maintenance contract in the whole area. The monthly inspections are made by randomly selected route which covers 20-30% of road length in the area and gives an overview of the state of roads and quality of maintenance works.

17. Further activities Flexibility by making a new contract
Enlistment of shortcomings, drawbacks, imperfections discovered during supervision
Analysis of these demerits: who’s to blame? – contractor or customer?
Working out measures in order to make contractors’ work more efficient and economically optimal
Implementing these measures
Enlistment of new shortcomings, drawbacks, imperfections discovered during supervision
etc.
Flexibility by making a new contract
The Estonian Road Administration has now 7-year experience on contracting out maintenance works. We have learned a lot, but still new aspects emerge while making a new contract. It’s vitally important to be flexible then.
As far as everyday work is concerned, there’s a need to take seriously every shortcoming, drawback, imperfection that is discovered during supervision, analyse these demerits – who’s to blame? and work out and implement measures in order to make contractor’s work more efficient and economically optimal. This is an ongoing process that will keep us busy for the next couple of years.

18. Thank you!
The end
Thank you