Meeting Challenges of Rural Road Management Caused by Decreasing Population and Changes in Industrial Structure

Abstract

The most pronounced characteristics of rural development in Finland in the 1990s include the concentration of population in cities as well as changes in the industrial and production structure. Outlying areas of eastern, northern, and central Finland have experienced the most significant absolute and relative decreases in population in recent years. A 73% share of state-owned public roads and private roads (the lowvolume road network) is located in the areas of decreasing population. Traffic volumes will decline on low-volume roads as rural population decreases and will significantly affect the economy of low-volume road management in the future. In the areas of decreasing population, the greatest problem is to maintain the low-volume road network in adequate condition with reasonable costs to serve permanent residents and the transport needs of agriculture and forestry. The most important measures for meeting the challenges of decreasing population include the allocation of sufficient funding for the management of low-volume roads, which will provide for the basic level of service to meet the necessary needs of citizens and enterprises. Furthermore, a system of “just-for-need road management” should be adopted more widely in the management of low-volume roads. Through this system, the scarce financial resources of public low-volume road management would be allocated as efficiently as possible to meet demand by time and location. It should be noted, however, that savings through just-for-need road management are not necessarily significant, and in some cases costs may even increase. For this reason, each low-volume road segment should be examined separately.