News

Rubber Mats are Used to Protect Forest Roads

JSC “Latvia's State Forests” (LVM) uses rubber mats that cushion the pressure caused by the machinery and prevent tracks from digging into the road surface and damaging it, this way reducing the negative impact of forest machines on the quality of forest roads in places where timber supply roads intersect with forest roads and where dents and breaks in the road surface can form.

When developing fellings, the timber storage cannot always be arranged next to forest roads so that tractors would not need to cross the road's gravel surface. It is usually affected by various restrictions, such as the status of a protected natural area, boundaries with private properties, steep elevations, or road trenches.

“Rubber mats have been laid at the crossing not to damage the gravel cover at the place where the timber supply road intersects with the forest road “Glāznieku ceļs” in the Ogre Forest District in Zemgale Region. The rubber mats will be removed once the work is completed. Before the gravel cover crossing point, a layer of branches is also created to reduce the volume of soil that will be brought onto the road by wheels,” says Andis Dzērve, Senior Forest Infrastructure Specialist in LVM Zemgale Region.

Rubber mats are basically made of crushed car tires cleaned of impurities. These rubber mats are reusable. They are transported from one road crossing to another. Mats can be used on both gravel and asphalt roads.