ENVIRONMENTAL ASPECTS OF WINTER MAINTENANCE OF AUTOMOBILE ROADS

Abstract

Maintenance and maintenance of the road surface with the onset of the winter period always creates certain difficulties related to the issue of dealing with ice or a thick snow cover formed as a result of a blizzard. Simple clearing of the road with the help of special snow removal equipment with plows installed on them ensures efficiency only if there is no repeated snowfall and is completely ineffective in the so-called «floating weather», which means a sharp change in temperature from plus to minus and is accompanied by the formation of strong ice. In addition, with the onset of the winter period, the share of traffic accidents increases, in particular due to ice on the road. All this leads to the need to clean the road surface from snow and ice cover with the help of special mixtures. The purpose of the article is to analyze the international and domestic experience regarding ecological approaches aimed at the winter maintenance of highways, taking into account the consequences for roadside ecosystems. The research methodology is based on the results of studies aimed at analyzing the available ways of maintaining highways during the winter period, as well as creating the necessary conditions for mitigating the environmental consequences for the adjacent ecosystem from the use of specialized anti-icing mixtures, and considering the possibility of introducing promising directions in the specified field. This material should combine interdisciplinary links of ecological, chemical and economic direction. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the fact that the environmental impact of certain salt mixtures was analyzed, together with an overview of promising methods of winter road maintenance and their modeling in Ukrainian conditions. Conclusions. Various types of aggregate materials were studied, including in foreign countries. An assessment of their degree of efficiency and manufacturability was carried out; promising research in the given field is determined, and their possible implementation and use in Ukrainian conditions.