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Wooden Shield Carriageways Help Preserve the Forest Soil

In situations where the construction of a permanent transport infrastructure is not rational and the supply of timber must be ensured throughout the year, already since 2011 JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) has been using wooden shield carriageways, which help protect the forest soil.

These structures are designed for short-term use and are laid on pre-levelled ground in off-road conditions. The carriageways are made of wooden shields made of coniferous lumber; they are 3.5 metres wide and a metre long. Such a wooden shield carriageway is wide and durable enough to be used by timber trucks with a total weight of 52 tonnes.

“Wooden shield roads are a very specific solution for increasing the soil bearing capacity, which, depending on the ground and weather conditions, can be both easy and relatively difficult to implement. The creation of such a carriageway takes little time, which reduces the disturbance to the forest managers and inhabitants of the surrounding areas; moreover, the use of these wooden structures in the forest leaves no traces of economic activity,” says Indris Stulpāns, Chief Executive Officer of LVM Forest Infrastructure.

In May, three temporary-use wooden shelter carriageways were set up in LVM Kurzeme Region. There is an 880-metre-long carriageway “Mežsargi” in Venta Forest District, Northern Kurzeme Region; a 170-metre-long carriageway “Tūķi” in Raķupe Forest District, Northern Kurzeme Region; and a 180-metre-long carriageway “Gāzes vads” in Grobiņa Forest District, Southern Kurzeme Region. After the planned felling site development, forest clean-up and timber removal, the carriageways will be dismantled and used in other facilities, since one wooden shield can be used at about ten sites.

The advantages of wooden shield carriageways are that they can be used on ground with very low load-bearing capacity, can be assembled quickly and easily, and they reduce the environmental impact of economic activity.