Information Needs of Gravel Road Stakeholders

Abstract

Within any ecosystem, information sharing is essential. In this paper, the Swedish gravel road ecosystem is studied, where information plays a crucial role for the effective management of operations and maintenance. However, efficient information sharing is not enabled due to the lack of appropriate information systems. For addressing this issue, this paper intends to elicit information needs of gravel road stakeholders to support the design of a cloud-based information system. The main purpose is to explore the information needs of stakeholders within the Swedish gravel road ecosystem. Data were collected through in-depth semi-structured interviews with 11 participants representing key stakeholders in the ecosystem. Template analysis was used for analyzing the interview results. The major findings were a set of information needs covering road identification and condition, weather conditions, accessibility and traffic, maintenance policy, and sensor data. The results form a comprehensive information model for the further development of a cloud-based gravel road management system that would contribute to increased traffic safety and comfort, lower maintenance and management costs, and better decision-making abilities.