WINTER ROAD RESEARCH PROGRAMS OF THE PUBLIC WORKS RESEARCH INSTITUTE OF JAPAN UNDER THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF CLIMATE CHANGE AND FINANCIAL CONSTRAINTS

摘要

Parts of Japan have experienced severe climate-related disasters caused by localizedrnheavy snowfall due to high temperatures in winter. The occurrence patterns of theserndisasters have been changing. Under severe economic circumstances, the provision ofrneconomically efficient and effective winter road services has been called for. The PublicrnWorks Research Institute has two research projects that address these problems. The firstrnproject involves studies to develop technologies to address such disasters. The fourrnindividual themes of the studies being implemented are as follows: the relationshiprnbetween climate change and changes in the snow and ice environment; the developmentrnof technologies for forecasting snowstorm-induced visibility hindrance; technologies thatrnallow snowstorm risk to be assessed; and risk-assessment technologies to addressrnavalanches that accompany winter rainfall. The second project aims at improving winterrnroad services. The five individual themes of the studies being implemented are as follows:rntechnologies that support efficient estimation of the road surface conditions for winter roadrnmanagement; composite road surface treatment technologies; snow removal technologiesrnthat utilize ICT; sidewalk surface management in the snowy season; and technologies forrnpreventing vehicles from deviating from their lane. This paper discusses the details ofrnthese studies.