Winter Highway Operations (2005)

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

32 This survey questionnaire focused on capturing changes that have occurred since 1994. Name of Respondent: Agency: 1. Please estimate the percentage of roadways under your jurisdiction broken out by these Winter Maintenance Climate Zones: a. Urban mountainous b. Urban plains/plateau c. Urban coastal/lake effect d. Urban rarely winter weather e. Suburban mountainous f. Suburban plains/plateau g. Suburban coastal/lake effect h. Suburban rarely winter weather i. Rural mountainous j. Plains/plateau k. Rural coastal/lake effect l. Rural rarely winter weather 2. What are the primary pavement conditions that occur on your roadways and influence your winter operations strategy? (Rank as 1 = primary, 3 = secondary, 5 = rarely or not at all.) a. Snowpack urban b. Snowpack suburban c. Snowpack rural d. Icepack urban e. Icepack suburban f. Icepack rural g. Blowing snow urban h. Blowing snow suburban i. Blowing snow rural j. Drifting snow urban k. Drifting snow suburban l. Drifting snow rural m. Freezing rain urban APPENDIX A Questionnaire

33 n. Freezing rain suburban o. Freezing rain rural p. Frost urban q. Frost suburban r. Frost rural s. Black ice urban t. Black ice suburban u Black ice rural v. Other: 3. Do you have a strategy and/or policy manual governing snow and ice control maintenance? Yes ____ No ____ If yes, please attach. 4. Please describe or attach an example of how you budget, track, and summarize snow and ice control or winter operations costs. a. Is this information tied to specific segment locations? Yes ____ No ____ b. Is a geographic information system (GIS) used for this information and your maintenance management practices? Yes ____ No ____ 5. What were your winter 2002/03 snow and ice control maintenance costs in $ per lane mile? a. What were your highest and lowest annual costs in the past 10 years in $ per lane mile? Maximum ________ Minimum ________ 6. How do you provide winter maintenance? a. Own forces b. Improvement district c. Contract—private sector d. Contract—other government 7. Have you documented any benefits from winter maintenance? Yes ____ No ____ If yes, please attach. 8. Do you use performance measures for winter maintenance evaluation? Yes ____ No ____ If yes, please attach. 9. Please describe the winter operation responsibilities and exchange between different disciplines such as winter maintenance, traffic operations, intelligent transportation systems, and traveler/traffic information within your agency. 10. How many pieces of each equipment type does your agency own or lease? a. Plow only: ten years ago b. Plow only: now c. Spreader only: ten years ago d. Spreader only: now e. Plow and spreader: ten years ago f. Plow and spreader: now g. All-liquid trucks: ten years ago h. All-liquid trucks: now

i. Motorgraders: ten years ago j. Motorgraders: now k. Snowblowers: ten years ago l. Snowblowers: now m. Other: ten years ago n. Other: now 11. What type and size of truck used is currently specified for snow/ice control? a. No. of axles b. GVW (gross vehicle weight) c. Horsepower 12. a. What percentage of your snow and ice control equipment is outfitted with the following? i. Truck pre-wetter systems: % ten years ago ii. Truck pre-wetter systems: % now iii. Wing plows: % ten years ago iv. Wing plows: % now v. Pavement temperature sensors: % ten years ago vi. Pavement temperature sensors: % now vii. Computerized spreader controls: % ten years ago viii. Computerized spreader controls: % now ix. Ergonomic display and equipment controls: % ten years ago x. Ergonomic display and equipment controls: % now xi. Automated vehicle location (AVL): % ten years ago xii. Automated vehicle location (AVL): % now xiii. Global Positioning System (GPS): % ten years ago xiv. Global Positioning System (GPS): % now xv. In-cab data collection and communication: % ten years ago xvi. In-cab data collection and communication: % now xvii. Other: % ten years ago xviii. Other: % now b. Please indicate the percentage distribution of plow blade types for your equipment. i. One way: % of trucks ii. One way: % of motorgraders iii. V: % of trucks iv. V: % of motorgraders v. Reversible: % of trucks vi. Reversible: % of motorgraders 13. Are there any new plow or cutting edge components you have successfully introduced during the past 10 years? Yes ____ No ____ 34

35 14. Do you have any specialized in-cab plow/wing control systems? Yes ____ No ____ 15. What are your spreader capacities? Maximum _______ Average _______ 16. What type of spreader(s) is/are used (e.g., tailgate, zero velocity)? 17. Are they calibrated? Yes ____ No ____ a. If yes, how? b. How often are they calibrated? c. How do you know they maintain their calibration and perform at the specified level? 18. Do you have any computerized spreader control or data collection systems in place? Yes ____ No ____ a. Have you had any significant experiences, successes, or difficulties with the controls? Yes ____ No ____ 19. What is/are your all-liquid truck capacity(ies)? a. Maximum b. Average 20. What communication with trucks do you use? 21. Do you experience any significant problems with these communication methods? Yes ____ No ____ 22. What deicers/chemicals are used by your agency? Please indicate trade name and describe any added corrosion inhibitors. 23. Do you apply corrosion inhibitors to your fleet? Yes ____ No ____ 24. Have you changed the manner in which you apply all liquids over the past 10 years? Yes ____ No ____ If yes, what prompted the action? 25. Do you feel adequate information is available to you to avoid unintended consequences of all-liquid applications? Yes ____ No ____ a. If not, what additional information or data are required? 26. Do you use abrasives? Yes ____ No ____ a. If not, why? 27. Have you investigated environmental concerns resulting from or not resulting from winter maintenance activities? Yes ____ No ____ 28. Does the individual winter operations decision maker with in your agency have first-hand information and access to roadside weather information pavement surface conditions (RWIS)? Yes ____ No ____ a. If yes, how is this access accomplished? b. If yes, who developed or provides this access? c. Is this access adequate and meet all your needs? Yes ____ No ____ 29. Please indicate the number of automated weather stations your organization accesses and uses. a. Your agency’s b. National Weather Service or airport c. Other:

30. If your agency owns roadside weather stations (RWIS–ESS), how many pavement sensors are deployed? a. Are any active sensors? Yes ____ No ____ b. If yes, how many? c. Are any non-contact sensors? Yes ____ No ____ d. If yes, how many? e. Does your agency use NTCIP–ESS? Yes ____ No ____ 31. What organizational level and discipline is responsible for RWIS? 32. Does your agency use a deployment criteria or strategy for RWIS sites? Yes ____ No ____ a. If yes, please attach a copy. 33. Does your organization provide access to weather forecasts to winter operations decision makers? Yes ____ No ____ a. If yes, what is the source? b. How is it delivered? c. What are the interval or frequency and period of the forecast? 34. Has your agency analyzed the RWIS data, developed performance measures or cost–benefit data? Yes ____ No ____ 35. Is thermal mapping used or could it be used as part of your RWIS or for operations? 36. What is your familiarity with the FHWA Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) initiative? Key involvement a. Stakeholder participant b. I have heard of it c. What is it? d. If familiar, what is the most valuable component? 37. Do you report winter road conditions? Yes ____ No ____ a. If yes, who manages it and how is it communicated to the public? 38. Do you utilize plow routes? Yes ____ No ____ a. If yes, how do you determine them? b. Are they dynamically alterable once the storm begins? Yes ____ No ____ c. What governs the change? 39. Who realistically decides the applications rate for chemical deicers or abrasive/deicer mixtures in a given storm? a. What reference is used to determine or change the rates? 40. Please describe your storm clean-up plans? 41. In your winter maintenance toolbox, which tools are well used? 42. What tools have broken or been thrown away in the past 10 years? 43. Which of the following are important improvements you feel can be made? Improvement of driver’s vision contrast sensitivity 36

37 a. Magnetic edge line tape and tactual seat display b. Forward lighting c. Conspicuity daytime snowplow colors d. Nighttime conspicuity e. Better snowplow cabin display and control arrangements f. Proximity radar, lane departure integrated in warning system g. Location, real-time operation data and communication system with base station h. Snowplow operator training and testing i. Other: 44. Is skill distribution or annual turnover a problem to performing winter operations? a. Entry: % of winter workforce b. Entry: % of annual winter workforce turnover c. Journey: % of winter workforce d. Journey: % of annual winter workforce turnover e. Master: % of winter workforce f. Master: % of annual winter workforce turnover 45. Does your strategy plan include dealing with winter storms categorized as a disaster; i.e., beyond capability of your agency? a. Has this changed in the past 10 years? 46. Do you utilize snow fences? Yes ____ No ____ a. Type i. Temporary ii. Fixed iii. Living b. What is the protected roadway centerline length for each of the types? i. Temporary ii. Fixed iii. Living c. What is the cumulative length of each type of snow fence? i. Temporary ii. Fixed iii. Living d. Do you have an annual maintenance/repair plan and budget for snow fence? Yes ____ No ____ 47. Do you have any fixed deicing spray installations? Yes ____ No ____ a. If yes, please describe the length, lane coverage, whether it is for a bridge, curve, etc. b. What type of chemical do you use with the system? 48. Are any of your routes subject to snow avalanche hazard? Yes ____ No ____ a. If yes, please describe your method of hazard reduction.

49. Does your agency utilize or operate any visibility, fog, flooded road, or other severe weather warning systems? Yes ____ No ____ 50. Does your agency actively address reduced visibility or fog? Yes ____ No ____ 51. Has your agency initiated or suggested any changes in highway design to reduce winter maintenance costs? Yes ____ No ____ 52. Please comment on your greatest and least problems as well as areas you feel the greatest improvements can be made relative to winter highway operations during the next 5 years. 38