Maintenance of the state roads in 2010-2011, winter maintenance levels
Maintenance of the main roads
From 1 January 2011 the carriageway of the main roads A1Vilnius-Kaunas-Klaipėda (section from km 10 to km 115), A5 Kaunas-Marijampolė-Suwalki, A8 Panevėžys-Aristava-Sitkūnai, A10 Panevėžys-Pasvalys- Riga and A17 Panevėžys bypass (approximately 360 km) is maintained following the first level of the maintenance of the main roads. Road maintenance service on these roads is on duty all day. During snowstorms, the road is cleaned; and during freezing rain, de-icers are spread at any time of the day. Driving on these roads should be ensured around the clock. The road must be cleaned and de-icers applied within two hours after snow and/ or blizzard stops. Under normal weather conditions, the pavement should be free of snow. During the snow fall and/ or blizzard snow thickness on the carriageway should not exceed 4 cm. Traffic under extreme weather conditions may be interrupted for no longe than three hours.
Until 31 December 2010 all main roads (1.74 thousand km), and from 1 January 2011 main roads which do not fall under the first maintenance level (in total ~1.38 thousand km) are maintained (the carriageway) under the second level of maintenance of the main roads. The road maintenance services on these roads are on duty, clearing snow and spreading de-icers from 4:00 to 22:00. After the snow stops, the roads should be cleaned and de-icers spread within 3 hours. Under normal weather conditions, the pavement should be free of snow. During the snowfall and/ or blizzard the permitted layer of snow on the carriageway is not more than 5cm. When the road is covered with ice for the first time, de-icers should be spread before 7:00 a.m. Traffic under extreme weather conditions may not be interrupted for more than 4 hours.
Maintenance of national roads
On the national roads (nearly 5 thousand km) the carriageway is maintained under the second level of maintenance of national roads. Road maintenance services on these roads are on duty, clearing snow and spreading de-icers from 6:00 to 19:00. After the snow stops, these roads should be cleaned and de-icers spread within 4 hours. Under normal weather conditions the snow layer on the pavement should not exceed 1 cm. During the snowfall and/ or blizzard the permitted limit of snow is 7cm. When the road is covered with ice for the first time de-icers should be spread before 8:00 a.m. Traffic under extreme weather conditions may not be interrupted for more than 8 hours.
Maintenance of regional roads
On the regional roads, where traffic volume exceeds 1,000 vehicles / day (about 1.0 thousand km), the carriageway is maintained according to the first level of maintenance of regional roads. Road maintenance services on these roads are on duty, clearing snow and spreading de-icers from 6:00 to 19:00. After the snow stops, these roads should be cleaned and de-icers spread within 5 hours. During the snowfall and/ or blizzard the snow layer on the pavement should not exceed 7cm. When the road is covered with ice for the first time de-icers should be spread before 9:00 a.m. Traffic under extreme weather conditions may not be interrupted for more than 8 hours.
On the other regional roads’ carriageway (about 13.6 thousand km) operations of the third maintenance level of regional roads are applied. They are maintained from 9:00 to 18:00. These roads are cleaned only after all main, national and regional roads, which fall under the first level of maintenance of regional roads, are treated. On these roads de-icers are spread only on dangerous sections (steep hills, sharp turns), and only after freezing rain or glazed frost. Under normal weather conditions the fluffy snow layer on the pavement should not exceed 8 cm. During the snowfall and/ or blizzard the permitted limit of snow on the carriageway is 20 cm. Traffic under extreme weather conditions may not be interrupted for more than 48 hours.
Extreme weather conditions include the following situations:
- More than 6 hours of uninterrupted snow and/or blizzard
- More than 24 hours of snow and/or blizzard with intervals
- Frozen road is covered with ice after rain or freezing rain
- The road has been covered with ice more than twice in 24 hours
- Daytime temperature does not rise above -8°C.
Note: The Lithuanian Road Administration under the Ministry of Transport and Communications and regional enterprises maintaining state roads are responsible solely for the situation on the roads, which are located between cities and towns, in regional centres and smaller towns. All streets, including those running on state roads, located on the territories of the cities and towns of Vilnius, Kaunas, Klaipėda, Šiauliai, Panevėžys, Marijampolė, Alytus, Palanga and Druskininkai are maintained by respective municipalities.
