Since winter severity varies from year to year, managing a winter maintenance budget can be a challenge. Annually, state transportation agencies spend more than $1 billion plowing highways, salting roads and maintaining equipment during the winter season. To help mitigate expenses brought on by unpredictable winter weather, Clear Roads research helps agencies quantify the factors that impact their budgets and use cost-benefit analyses to identify the most cost-efficient strategies and equipment.
Tools
- Clear Roads Decision Support Tool for Quantifying Impacts of Capital Projects on Snow and Ice Operations
- Clear Roads Cost-Benefit Tool
- Clear Roads Comparison Tool to Understand the True Costs of Snow and Ice Control
Other Research and Resources
- Approach to Fleet Contracting for Snow Plowing Operations: This study developed a novel stochastic model to optimize the number of plows that should be contracted prior to a snow season to minimize the total cost, considering the frequency and distribution of various intensities of snow events, geometric condition of the roadways and traffic speeds. (New Jersey Institute of Technology, 2014)
- Alternative Delivery Methods for Winter Maintenance Operations (NCHRP, 2014)
- Methods for Estimating the Benefits of Winter Maintenance Operations (Western Transportation Institute, 2012)
- Cost and Benefit Study Associated with Outsourcing Roadway Maintenance Activities (Nevada DOT, 2011)