Establishing Best Practices - Snow/Ice Removal in California

Primary Investigator Contact Information

Eli Cuelho
Western Transportation Institute
PO Box 174250
Bozeman, Montana 59717
406-994-7886
elic@coe.montana.edu

External Project Contact(s)

Larry Baumeister
California Department of Transportation, Division of Research and Innovation
PO Box 942873, 1227 O Street, 5th Floor
Sacramento, California 94273-0001
916-324-2296
larry_baumeister@dot.ca.gov

Report(s)

There are no reports associated with this project.

Project Objective

Develop guidelines for optimal snow and ice removal operations designed specifically for California highway environments.

Project Abstract

The California Department of Transportation is faced with the difficult task of maintaining and operating roadways during the winter while also maintaining safety, economic development, emergency management and environmental stewardship. Recent legislation has mandated that salt usage be reduced, which has led Caltrans to alter their means of maintaining roads in winter. Even though Caltrans has responded to this legislation by reducing overall salt usage, not enough research has been done to establish best practices for winter maintenance using alternative chemicals. Alternative anti-icing and deicing chemicals are being tested and tried to verify their many attributes. While many departments use deicing techniques as a reactive method, anti-icing is a technique that continues to gain favor worldwide for better control of roadway snow and ice. However, there are three major limitations that have slowed full implementation of anti-icing methodologies: 1) lack of established dispersal rates, 2) lack of laboratory studies to verify field studies, and 3) lack of understanding of the science associated with anti-icing principles. These knowledge gaps may lead to inappropriate use, which can have significant economic, environmental or safety repercussions. To ensure an appropriate balance between cost, effectiveness, safety, infrastructure service life and environmental stewardship, transportation agencies must know how to apply the right amount/type of chemicals in the right place at the right time. The objective of this research is to develop guidelines for optimal snow and ice removal operations designed specifically for California highway environments. The research will: 1) synthesize information regarding winter maintenance best practices, and 2) establish a set of preliminary guidelines for safe, effective, environmentally conscious, and fiscally responsible winter maintenance practices in California. Preliminary guidelines will be established through a carefully crafted laboratory investigation and a field operational test (FOT) to predict and/or verify the viability of selected chemicals under various road and weather scenarios. The research results from this project will allow the department to make better decisions with respect to reducing the amount of chemicals and cost for snow and ice removal operations while providing safe, reliable winter highways for the traveling public. The implementation of better snow and ice removal practices will have immediate positive impact on the California highway system, including cost savings, enhanced traveler safety, reduced traveler delays, and minimized environmental impacts.

Task Descriptions

Project Management
1. Eli Cuelho of the Western Transportation Institute (WTI) will be the Principal Investigator for the project. Dr. Edward Adams will serve as Co-Principal Investigator for the project. Dr. Xianming Shi (WTI) will provide expert advice regarding the corrosion and environmental aspects of chemicals used for winter maintenance activities.
Survey of Winter Maintenance Best Practices
1. A comprehensive literature review will be conducted near the beginning of this project to summarize available data on winter maintenance best practices. An online survey will also be conducted using an online survey distribution service in order to acquire information from other DOTs regarding their experience using various materials and methodologies.
Laboratory Experiments
1. The laboratory experiments will be conducted using a state-of-the-art testing facility located on the Montana State University campus. This facility can mimic most climates ranging from -60° to 60° C. Bonding between the precipitation and the road surface will be studied using up to five chemicals at three dispersal rates on top of two types of pavement surfaces, and under three different storm events. From this matrix of tests, optimal dispersal rates will be established for varying climates and roadway combinations. Friction will be measured after the snow/ice is removed to evaluate effectiveness. Information from these experiments will be used in the field operational test to validate results seen the in laboratory.
Field Operational Test
1. The field operational test will be conducted at WTI’s Lewistown Airport Cold Region Rural Transportation Research Facility. This field test site will be equipped with snow-making equipment, a weather station, and other important communication and data acquisition hardware. The experimental test site will be used to evaluate each of the five chemicals tested in the lab using 100-foot-long test sections of pavement. A snowplow will be used to remove snow from the roadway to evaluate the effectiveness of each chemical type. Three trial runs will be made to evaluate varying climatic conditions using the dispersal rates established in the laboratory experiments.