The federal motorways of the Federal Republic of Germany play an important role for both individual travellers as well as for the transportation of goods. Nevertheless, they are barely able to absorb the amount of traffic along certain stretches and during certain periods of the day, despite favourable weather conditions. Roadworks, accidents and particularly adverse conditions during winter also have a negative impact on the flow of traffic. The result is traffic jams of differing duration, some shorter and some longer. The setting up of a centralised winter road maintenance service aims to prevent and to reduce disturbances and the risks associated with adverse road conditions during winter. In any event, the establishment of an efficient winter road maintenance service faces complications due to frequent and rapid variations in weather conditions and the additional requirements inherent upon putting into place an economically and ecologically viable service. In order to satisfy the ever increasing requirements and in an effort to optimise the winter road maintenance service, the department of motorway construction of North Rhine Westphalien (Landesbetrieb Strassenbau des Bundeslandes Nordrhein-Westfalen) has created a winter road maintenance centre. Since winter 1997/1998 the coordination of the winter road maintenance service for the 14 motorway centres, which monitor the 1000 km network of roads, has taken place from this winter road maintenance centre. Thus the latter was able to replace the six call centres which existed heretofore. It is at this winter road maintenance centre that all the essential data is pooled together and evaluated. Data and short term forecasts from the 100 measuring stations which detect black ice (GMA), as well as regional weather forecasts from the computerised system which monitors the weather and the state of the roads (SWIS) are all made available to the winter road maintenance centre. These sources of data are complemented by information from the police service. Where necessary, it is possible to obtain information from the national weather service, which is also available to provide advice and support. The necessary data and analysis in order to alert the winter road maintenance service personnel is communicated to the individuals responsible at the motorway centres for ordering said personnel into action. The winter road maintenance centre is constantly informed as to the state of play of these interventions and can, where necessary, for example in the case of extremely difficult weather conditions, request back-up support from emergency vehicles from neighbouring motorway centres. The establishment of a winter road maintenance centre has resulted in an optimal winter road maintenance service, which is able to react in time. It is in this way that the formation of black ice is either stopped altogether or the duration of its presence is reduced. The use of salting (NaCl) has been reduced thanks to its application only at required points. The use of a competent winter road maintenance service, which is coordinated by a winter road maintenance centre, has both economic and ecological benefits for the public purse. Moreover the economic savings have resulted in the closure of six call centres and a reduction in personnel costs thanks to automated monitoring systems in the fourteen motorway centres.