Paving season starts now

YIT’s first paving sites have started in southern Finland in the Helsinki metropolitan area, Hämeenlinna and the Lahti region.

In Kotka, Lappeenranta, Turku and Pori, for example, the paving season will begin during the week following May Day.

Roads will be repaired and paved everywhere in Finland from spring to late autumn. YIT’s paving work, covering the whole of Finland, will start as the spring progresses, commencing from the south and proceeding northwards.

In May, the paving season will start in earnest in cities such as Tampere, Jyväskylä, Joensuu, Kuopio, Seinäjoki and Oulu. Kokkola, Vaasa and Kemi will follow in late May, while the asphalt plants in northernmost Finland will start as soon as the weather permits.

Why are roads repaired all the time?

Asphalt workers will be working on Finnish roads even until December. When roadwork sometimes forces you to stop and wait, you might start wondering “why and how often roads need to be repaired?”

According to YIT’s paving specialist Lars Forstén, there are several strains on the roads. The most important of them is naturally traffic itself.

“At highway speeds, especially studded tyres erode the surface of the asphalt. In cities, too, studded tyres play an important part, with heavy vehicles contributing to the problem. At slower speeds, especially at junction areas the heavy vehicles weigh down the asphalt, creating ruts,” Forstén explains.

In addition to traffic, weather contributes to road surface wear, as wet asphalt erodes more easily than dry. Quickly changing weather conditions in spring and temperature chances in summer are especially problematic in this respect.

Safety first

Roads are repaired to keep them safe to drive. When a rut in the road reaches a depth of more than 15 millimetres, the safety of the road is compromised, and the road needs to be repaired.

“If road users detect potholes or dangerous sections in the road, they should notify the road operator immediately regardless of the season. In this way, repairs can be carried out more quickly,” says Forstén.

Minor repairs, such as pothole repairs, are carried out throughout the year. Major renovations and paving projects are carried out during the paving season.

“The road is either given a new layer of asphalt on top of the old surface or the road surface is completely replaced on site using the so-called Remix method where the old asphalt is recycled. If the problem is with the sub-layers of the road, the entire roadbed with all the asphalt layers are rebuilt,” Forstén explains.

Main roads are repaired every few years, minor roads more seldom

YIT is by far the largest paving company in Finland. In addition to Finland, YIT paves and repairs roads in Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Russia and the Baltic countries.

In Finland, the owner of the road is responsible for ordering repairs. The Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency (Väylä), ELY Centres and municipalities are such road owners. The frequency of repairs depends on the wear and condition of the road.

“Highways and exit roads in Helsinki are paved every two to five years due to large traffic volumes. On roads with average or low traffic, the repair interval is over ten years. Suburbs and residential areas may have asphalt surfaces 30–40 years old,” says Forstén.

Forstén points out that paving work progresses quickly, and the inconvenience is short-lived. He calls for patience and caution.

“At the paving site, asphalt workers are doing valuable work for the safety of all road users,” he says.

Read more:
www.yit.fi/en/paving

For further information, please contact:
Arto Heikkinen, VP, Paving Operations, YIT Finland Ltd, tel. +358 (0)40 070 3367, arto.heikkinen@yit.fi
Pauliina Pykälä, Communications Manager, YIT Corporation, tel. +358 (0)40 354 3360, pauliina.pykala@yit.fi

YIT is the largest Finnish and significant North European construction company. We develop and build apartments and living services, business premises and entire areas. We are also specialised in demanding infrastructure construction and paving. Together with our customers, our nearly 10,000 professionals are creating more functional, more attractive and more sustainable cities and environments. We work in 11 countries: Finland, Russia, Scandinavia, the Baltic Countries, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. The new YIT was born when over 100-year-old YIT Corporation and Lemminkäinen Corporation merged on February 1, 2018. Our pro forma revenue for 2018 was approximately EUR 3.8 billion. YIT Corporation's share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy. www.yitgroup.com