United States Department of Transportation
i
Survey and Economic Analysis of Pavement Impacts from Studded Tire Use in Alaska
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2019-05-01
[PDF-2.97 MB]
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Abstract:In cold regions, such as Alaska, using studded tires is common among the public when driving in icy and snowy conditions. However, studded tires cause extensive wear to asphalt pavement, reducing pavement life. Almost 22 years have passed since the Alaska Legislature completed an analysis of the impact on Alaska’s roadways from studded tire use. The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities initiated the present research effort to update the previous research, determine the actual cost of roadway resurfacing due to studded tire use, and analyze fees collected from studded tire purchases versus costs incurred because of maintaining roadways damaged by studded tire use. Parking lot survey and household surveys were employed to examine the extent of studded tire use in the state and alternative cost-effective solutions for the Alaska roadway network. A pavement life cycle cost review was established based on an overall number of statewide road segments considering a number of variables to discover a realistic cost of roadway resurfacing and rehabilitation. This project’s economic analysis is a planning level analysis based on 3,025 statewide road segments’ resurfacing cost, road classifications, studded tire use, growth in traffic, studded tire season length, the adoption rate of non-studded tires, proportion of heavy load vehicles, average rut rate due to studded passenger vehicles and rut rate due to heavy wheel loads. Wear rates due to studded tires and rut rates due to wheel loads were found for different highway classes. Results show higher average wear rates due to studded passenger vehicles on freeways (0.0116 in. per 100,000 studded vehicles) than the average rut rates due to heavy wheel loads (0.0049 in. per 100,000 trucks) and lower average wear rates on arterial and collector roads (0.0062 in. and 0.0045 in. per 100,000 studded vehicles, respectively). The annual damage cost associated with studded tires statewide was found to be $13.7 million—42 times the state’s fees from studded tire sales and stud installations not considering the cost of crashes and other safety aspects caused by ruts. Policies are suggested to address future action on studded tire use, help reduce resurfacing costs, and minimize roadway damage.
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