WTG experts took part in the scientific and practical conference "Innovative Approaches to Road Operation" organized with support of the Federal Road Agency of the Ministry of Transport of the Russian Federation in Saratov. Representatives of the regional ministry, experts from the leading Russian industrial and scientific organizations of the road industry, Federal Road Agency "RosDORNII" and State Road Traffic Safety Inspectorate gathered to discuss implementation of the national project "Safe Quality Roads", as well as issues of import substitution and innovative activities in the road sector. Representative of "ROSDORNII" Alexander Kamenskikh presented up-to-date information about road repair and maintenance pricing. Over the past five years the Institute has enacted more than 165 standardization documents. Updating standardization documents is aimed at improving the safety and comfort of people using the roads, compliance of the technical level of roads with the needs of economic growth, as well as the development of new logistics routes ensuring sustainable logistics between the territories. The participants of the conference were also introduced to the measures to ensure road traffic safety, separation of oncoming traffic, selection of installation sites and designation of technical facilities for photo and video recording of violations. Safety issues were also raised by the representatives of the State Road Traffic Safety Inspectorate of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia in the Saratov region, who presented the statistics of accidents with lethal outcome caused by fault of repairmen and owners of highways. As it was noted, the cause of accidents were not only potholes not patched in time, but also lack of signs, lighting, curbs and guards, horizontal and vertical markings. Often accidents with deadly rolls of cars into the ditch are caused by the emergency condition of the road shoulder, which becomes much lower than the asphalt layer after road repair. "This conference is a platform for exchanging experience, knowledge and learning useful lessons for everyone," said Alexey Bykov, First Deputy Minister for Transport and Road Facilities of Saratov region. "Despite a narrow thematic focus, the scope of discussion is very wide. We hold such events on a regular basis, with participation of representatives of professional road community from other regions, and within the interdepartmental cooperation. There are many problems which should be put on the agenda, discussed and resolved. Beyond the issues of safety and quality assurance, the participants had an opportunity to learn about the latest developments in road maintenance: specialized equipment and innovative Bionord materials for winter and inter-seasonal maintenance of the street and road network, such as multicomponent agents, road shampoos and anti-dust compounds. The conference participants learned about the rules for selecting deicing agents, paying attention to the requirements for the composition, effectiveness at low temperatures, 'actuation' time of deicers, safety and environmental friendliness, and availability of permits."