Heating technologies for prevention of snow and ice accumulation were incorporated in ten bridge decks located in five states, Nebraska, Oregon, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia, to enhance motorist safety and reduce traffic disruptions. Three different technologies were used to convey heat to the bridge surface: hydronic (heated fluid pumped through pipe or tubing in the pavement close to the surface), heat pipe (passive transfer of heat by vaporization and condensation of a working fluid contained in sealed pipes), and electric (heat generated by electric resistance cables buried in the pavement near the surface). The report gives construction details, cost data, operating characteristics, and experiences during winter operations. At the time this report was prepared, insufficient operating time had accumulated to judge the cost effectiveness of all the installations, but positive control of snow and ice had been demonstrated.
Many bridges are exposed to snow and ice during the winter. As snow and ice accumulate over the bridge’s concrete deck, deicing salts are usually sp...
This Transportation Research Synthesis (TRS) summarizes non-chloride based deicers available on the market at this time, including acetate, formate, g...
Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving a Bureau of Transportation
Statistics (BTS)/National Transportation Library (NTL)
Web-based service.
Thank you for visiting.
You are about to access a non-government link outside of
the U.S. Department of Transportation's National
Transportation Library.
Please note: While links to Web sites outside of DOT are
offered for your convenience, when you exit DOT Web sites,
Federal privacy policy and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation
Act (accessibility requirements) no longer apply. In
addition, DOT does not attest to the accuracy, relevance,
timeliness or completeness of information provided by linked
sites. Linking to a Web site does not constitute an
endorsement by DOT of the sponsors of the site or the
products presented on the site. For more information, please
view DOT's Web site linking policy.
To get back to the page you were previously viewing, click
your Cancel button.
United States Department of Transportation
[PDF-7.90 MB]
