A winter severity index for the state of Maine.

Details

• Creators:
  Marquis, Brian ; Nouhan, Victor ; Colson, Stephen ; Payeur, Joe
• Corporate Creators:
  Maine. Dept. of Transportation. Transportation Research Division
• Subject/TRT Terms:
  • Winter maintenance
  • Weather forecasting
  • Weather conditions
  • Cost effectiveness
  • Deicing chemicals
  • Snowfall
  • Snowplows
• Publication/ Report Number:
  42979
• Resource Type:
  Tech Report
• Geographical Coverage:
  Maine
• Corporate Publisher:
  Maine. Dept. of Transportation
• Abstract:
  Winter maintenance in the Sate of Maine consumes around twenty percent of the Bureau of ; Maintenance and Operations budget each year. Costs are directly related to the length and severity ; of a winter season. In addition, the cost of materials and equipment increases every year. ; Maintenance has been experimenting with new methods, materials, and equipment to offset the ; increased cost. Up until 1998 the Maine Department of Transportation had been using a reactive ; approach to winter maintenance. This involved placing a mix of sand and salt on the road during a ; storm, then clean-up with salt only after the storm. In 1997 the Department experimented with a ; proactive method which consists of placing salt on the roadway as close to the beginning of the ; storm as possible followed by continued applications of salt and plowing when necessary. This ; method was very effective at keeping the roads bare during a storm and appeared to be less costly. ; By 2001 most Regions were using the proactive method. ; With the switch from sand/salt mix to salt only it was necessary to upgrade the equipment to monitor ; and distribute salt more effectively. A number of spinners and hopper upgrades were experimented ; with. Evaluating each piece of equipment was based on observations and opinions. This method of ; evaluation is good but can be subjected to personal opinions. ; Another tool that would help determine cost-effectiveness is a Winter Severity Index (WSI). A WSI ; rates a winter season between 0 for a mild winter to 100 for an extremely severe winter. Index ; numbers are generated from daily snowfall amounts and temperature. A WSI is a consistent rating ; that can be used to gauge equipment effectiveness during a winter season or a storm. ; The Maine Winter Severity Index is a good indicator of seasonal winter conditions and correlates ; well with the quantity of materials used during a winter season. Correlation with seasonal costs are ; not as effective due to premium hourly pay and call outs for winter maintenance outside the normal ; working hours and the rising cost of materials.
  More +
• Format:
  PDF
• Download URL:
  https://rosap.ntl.bts.gov/view/dot/28475/dot_28475_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 378.34 KB]
• Collection(s):
  US Transportation Collection
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:a8d887ecc1503e8e0a7e9e8d15fa258872afd7e23424567fb28648b6a63d4ab5