Ring Road III: Safer traffic in larger Helsinki

Standing beside Ring Road III for just a few minutes is enough to confirm that it is one of the busiest highways in Finland. On weekdays, this significant 46-kilometre metropolitan area route is used by approximately 60,000–70,000 vehicles every day. The traffic volumes, caused by both domestic and international traffic, are expected to grow by nearly 50% by 2030.

In order to improve the safety of traffic and to help it flow smoothly, the highway is going through substantial developments in three phases. The first phase was completed in 2012, and the current, second one is scheduled for 2013–2016.

The city of Vantaa has received two loans from NIB for this project: EUR 60 million in December 2009 and EUR 34 million in December 2014.

“We are extremely pleased with how well this second phase improvement has proceeded. The project is well ahead of schedule and will likely come in under budget as well”, says Henry Westlin, City Engineer from the city of Vantaa, as he stands at the intersection of Ring Road III and the main access road to Helsinki airport.

Trucks accelerate by us, proving that a notable amount of the traffic on the road constitutes freight traffic flowing to and from Helsinki airport and Vuosaari harbour.

Antti Koski, Project Manager from the Finnish Transport Agency, knows the project like the back of his hand. The agency is responsible for the construction side of the project.

“We have built four new interchanges here, along with several new lanes. Most of the traffic lights have also been removed, which will allow the traffic to run more steadily. These developments will considerably decrease driving times, as Ring Road III has been affected by daily traffic jams”, Mr Koski explains.

“Improved traffic flow will also mean fewer road accidents, which naturally is the main driver of all these large construction projects. Short ramps and acceleration rates for buses combined with traffic light-controlled junctions caused congestion and impacted safety, as well”, Mr Westlin adds, pointing at a new pedestrian LED streetlight.

The benefits of the improvements will affect wider areas. Previously, Ring Road III strained the surrounding streets and road network. Drivers needed to search for alternative routes to avoid jams and queues. This substantially impacted safety, noise and pollution in neighbouring residential areas. The source of these drawbacks will now be removed for good.

There are even more improvements that will be built soon in the residential areas adjacent to the road: new bus stops, walks, paths for bicycles as well as noise barriers. The roadsides will also receive some light art to beautify the surroundings.

Speaking about the modernisation of Ring Road III, it is important to mention the new Ring Rail Line, a rail link between central Helsinki and the airport. The launch of the new line is expected in July 2015. It will bring rail services to new areas in Vantaa and improve public transport connections in the entire Helsinki region. Three of the new Ring Rail Line stations are located in the vicinity of Ring Road III. The newly upgraded road will serve the feeder traffic from tires to rails.

“For Vantaa, this year will definitely go down in history. This summer, Vantaa is hosting a housing fair located close to the new Ring Rail Line. The massive road improvements will also be completed this year”, says Mr Westlin.

There are a multitude of reasons for the project finishing so far ahead of time. The meticulous planning phase, which took careful account of construction-time detour arrangements, had an enormous impact.

“The ability to organise work so that it causes as little inconvenience to road users as possible is usually by far the largest challenge in such projects. We have also had a punctual construction contractor. The loan we received has helped us exceed expectations schedule-wise”, says Mr Koski.

“Getting this phase finalised soon is something of a victory, as these developments have been needed for decades. The more effective route will benefit both the development of Vantaa and Finland’s economy. This road is a link to abroad for the whole country”, says Mr Westlin.