News

New Clear Roads Research: Evaluating Indoor Automated Stockpile Measurement Systems

Many state and local transportation agencies with winter maintenance programs purchase their road salt before the winter season to secure the best prices and assure availability. However, measuring and monitoring the quantity of salt in widely distributed stockpiles—including many sites without regular staff on-site—can be both challenging and time-consuming. This Clear Roads project examined a … Read more

National Survey Compiles Eight Years of Winter Maintenance Data

Clear Roads has published its eighth Annual Survey of State Winter Maintenance Data, which compiles data on winter resources, materials and costs from 36 states for the 2021-2022 winter season. The interactive spreadsheet-based tool includes a United States map that displays many of these metrics.  

Clear Roads RFPs: Proposals Due January 6

Clear Roads has reposted Request for Proposals (RFP) for two research projects: Effects of Additives in Deicing Salts at Lower Temperatures Best Management Practices for Liquid Chloride Storage and Pumping Systems To view the details of these RFPs, please visit MnDOT’s Professional Technical Consultant Services page. The deadline to submit proposals is Friday, January 6, 2023.

Submit a Research Idea to Clear Roads!

Have a research idea? This year, Clear Roads is inviting members of the winter maintenance and research communities to submit ideas for consideration as future Clear Roads research topics. We welcome great ideas from anyone! Clear Roads funds winter maintenance research in six topic areas, with a focus on: Evaluating winter maintenance materials, equipment and … Read more

Clear Roads Research Featured at Environmental Conference

On October 13, 2022, members of the Lake George Association in upstate New York hosted their annual Salt Summit to discuss strategies and technologies for reducing road salt. Clear Roads member Joe Thompson of New York State DOT spoke at the event, sharing highlights of the in-progress Clear Roads research project investigating ways agencies can … Read more

New Clear Roads Research: Understanding the Chemistry of Road Salt

As temperatures drop, sodium chloride loses its deicing power. Depending on conditions, adding more salt to a roadway may be ineffective and wasteful. To help maintenance managers make the most of their stockpiles and keep roads clear, this Clear Roads research project investigated how salt behaves at different temperatures and concentrations. With a new tool … Read more

Clear Roads Research Earns National Recognition

New tools and training materials developed by Clear Roads are featured in an article in the October issue of APWA Reporter. Designed to help state and local transportation agencies save time and money on their winter maintenance operations, these new resources resulted from three recent Clear Roads research projects: CR 19-03: Measuring the Efficiencies of … Read more

New Clear Roads RFP: Proposals due Nov. 9

Clear Roads is currently soliciting investigator proposals for a new research project: Effects of Additives in Deicing Salts at Lower Temperatures Please download the RFP document and DBE special provisions for more information. To view the details of this RFP, visit MnDOT’s Professional Technical Consultant Services. The deadline to submit a proposal is Wednesday, November 9, 2022.

AASHTO Targets Deicing Materials with New Lab Proficiency Testing Program

Does your organization have a laboratory that tests deicing products? AASHTO re:source is looking for you! Clear Roads is partnering with AASHTO re:source to help laboratories improve and standardize their testing protocols for winter materials used for anti-icing/deicing applications. Through its new Proficiency Testing Program, AASHTO re:source is helping to improve the quality of test standards, materials, … Read more

New Hampshire and Iowa Recognized for High-Value Winter Research

New Hampshire DOT’s study of LED snowplow lights and Iowa DOT’s investigation of self-heating electrically conductive concrete recently captured national attention as two of AASHTO’s High Value Research winners for 2022. The award recognizes the nation’s top high-value research projects as chosen by state DOT research directors in each of the four AASHTO regions. In … Read more