Illinois
The Illinois DOT was prepared when snow hit the northern part of the state this year. Maintenance Operations Engineer Dave Johnson said annual snow meetings take place before the winter weather blows in – by early October in the northern part of the state, and by the end of October in the southern part of the state. Team sections from the nine districts gather to talk about snow removal, watch videos, calibrate the spreaders and inspect equipment.
Like most states, Illinois replaces older equipment each year. Johnson said 3-ton (2.7 t) tandems with plows – whether V-plows, straight plows or wing plows – are the most common snow removing equipment used. “Big snowblowers are used only in certain areas,” he noted. “When blowing and drifting snow gets too high for us to plow, we might use the blowers, but that’s very infrequent.”
Illinois uses traditional snow fences in very limited areas to control blowing and drifting snow. “We don’t use standing-row crops as live snow fences like some states,” Johnson explained. “The farmers here just aren’t interested in it. They’re also not very interested in regular snow fences. If we have a wet spring, it’s hard for them to get into their fields with the fences in place.”
The Illinois DOT maintains a Web site (www.dot.state.il.us) to provide pavement and air temperatures, along with wind speed and direction. A color-coded map indicates conditions of the interstates, or a text message is available for selected routes. The text message is also recorded on a phone line for travelers who call 800/452-4368. Or, travelers can pull into rest areas and consult the DTN machines for weather information.
The state contracts out for weather detailed forecasting that includes frost and precipitation, but according to Johnson, that information is for internal use only at this point. This also is true for the road sensors. Johnson said the DOT is in the process of getting all that information on the Web site.
Anti-icing remains a state-wide concern. Johnson noted that 80 to 85 percent of the bridge decks are pre-treated with a liquid brine solution, and throughout the state, roads are pre-treated with liquid brine or calcium chloride, which he said works better in lower temperatures and helps salt stick to the streets. “Our salt usage is mild,” he added.
Illinois contracts for its salt supply. The DOT estimates the number of tons it will need each winter and lets to bid by location. The state guarantees to purchase at least 75 percent of its estimated need, according to Johnson. In return, the winning contractor promises to supply 130 percent of the estimated need before re-negotiating the price. While Johnson said this poses a challenge to find adequate storage, the state has many domes in which to stash the material.
Manpower is also plentiful. In addition to the 1,900 full-time employees, Johnson estimated that the state hires 1,600 additional workers for snow removal. “We have full-time temporary people, mostly in the Chicago area,” he explained. “And we have temporary hourly help – we call them snow birds. They work only when we need them. For prolonged storms, we work A and B shifts – 12-hour shifts.
“We have plenty of salt and manpower,” he added. “We’re ready to go.”
Minnesota
Extra manpower is something Minnesota could use. According to Communications Specialist for Mn/DOT Kent Barnard, there aren’t enough “transportation specialists” to fill every available plow seat. Auxiliary drivers are used – construction workers, department heads, Barnard himself – for snow and ice duty when needed. “We have an automated call-out system,” he explained. “There are two 12-hour shifts.”
He noted that all drivers complete training, which is ongoing and includes an eight-hour evasive driving course and an eight-hour defensive driving course, with mandatory four-hour refresher courses every three years.
Minnesota has adopted many innovative strategies to fight winter weather. Living snow fences are very successful in the northern state; the state pays farmers to leave crops standing, thus alleviating some of the blowing and drifting of snow on the interstates.
“Blowing and drifting can be a real problem up here,” Barnard said. “In the southern part of the state, where it’s prairie-like, I-90 frequently gets drifts. Because so many people used to get stranded, now we have gates to the entrance ramps to the interstate. When conditions warrant, the police close the gates to help protect people from getting stranded.”
To help activate the salt, Mn/DOT mixes in sand, whose abrasive grains break up the salt crystals and make it more effective. In some areas they are pre-wetting. Although Minnesota relies mostly on salt, the DOT experiments with other materials and applications. “We’re looking at ways to reduce the amount of salt we use,” Barnard said. “We have a committee called ’Salt Solutions’ looking at various options. We use calcium chloride in limited areas, we use corn-based materials and we’re beginning to experiment with a soybean-based product. The agricultural products are more environmentally friendly. Environment is a big concern of ours.”
Another anti-icing tactic used by Mn/DOT is a de-icing system in place on a bridge spanning the Mississippi River in Minneapolis. The heavily traveled bridge is subject to black ice and slippery conditions, compounded by the heating plant on the ground below. Mn/DOT’s system senses pavement temperatures and sprays a fine mist of sodium acetate to prevent ice from forming. Barnard said it has reduced the number of accidents on the bridge.
Other cutting-edge technology includes a concept plow that incorporates six on-board computers and a sensor on the front bumper to keep the plow on course. “That’s a joint project with the University of Minnesota,” he explained. “We’re into heads-up technology and partnerships.”
GPS systems are in limited use, and many trucks are equipped with computer screens and cameras to help operators see through the mist and fog. Travelers can also take advantage of some of Minnesota’s new technology. The DOT is moving toward a new software program – Mncars – that serves as a condition acquisition and reporting system. Logging on to www.dot.state.mn.us will allow drivers to preview weather and road conditions. Or, they can call 800/542-0220 to hear pre-recorded information 24 hours a day.
The RWIS – roadway weather information system – records ambient and pavement temperatures, wind speed and direction, and humidity, thereby alerting the DOT to areas prone to ice-up conditions so they can send crews out quickly.
Barnard said the future holds even more. “Technology is changing so rapidly,” he noted. “It’s really an exciting time. In the future travelers will be able to call [a number] to get road information. That’s in the development stages.
“Our focus is to keep the roads clear and safe,” he continued. “We’re big on work-zone safety, and we consider plows a moving work zone.” Barnard also is big on preparation. He pre-purchases salt, partly to save taxpayer dollars, he said, but also in order to be prepared for early snows. And he added that he insists on keeping all the trucks in operating condition 12 months of the year. “If it snows in July,” he bragged, “we can have our crews on the road in half an hour – with plenty of salt.”
Nebraska
Nebraska’s highway winter snow removal fleet was ready by October 30, Winter Awareness Week. The cornhusker state combines traditional approaches with the latest technology. Liquid chemical processes used for frost, ice and snow will receive expanded use this year. Ice Ban will be in limited use in Nebraska’s eight districts.
Other products in use in various districts include Caliber, calcium, magnesium chloride, and mixes of salt, salt brine, sand and chemicals. District 2 will use Caliber because it believes it is as effective as Ice Ban, but has fewer solids and does not have the unpleasant odor of its counterpart.
Ice Ban and Caliber are agricultural-based mixtures resulting from ethanol production. They help prevent ice and snow from bonding to the pavement surface, or they may be applied as de-icing materials to help remove snow and ice buildup on the roads. They may also be used as pre-wetting agents to make other chemicals more effective. They can be used in various concentrations in association with magnesium chloride or sodium chloride. Salt brine is a chloride solution that may be applied to roads up to two hours before a winter storm. It helps prevent ice and snow from bonding to the pavement.
District 1 is trying Caliber M2000, a blend of the Caliber de-icer and 30-percent magnesium. It will be used on salt and sand stockpiles. Nebraska’s DOT believes that treating the stockpiles will increase the rate at which the salt begins working and will benefit the overall penetration of the salt, allowing for effective use at colder temperatures. The stockpile won’t freeze or clump and should remain free-flowing regardless of temperature. The liquid also adds corrosion protection for the equipment. Many of the districts will pre-treat selected areas such as hills, curves and bridges in order to prevent problems. District 4 will pre-treat some lane miles.
While Nebraska has purchased some new equipment this year – including tandems with tag axles, which allow larger loads on long snow runs; six-wheel-drive motor graders with V-plows and wings; various trucks and motor graders; 1,700-gal. (6,435 L) spray systems; and a brine marker – the state will also use contracted graders as needed. Approximately 900 units of equipment make up the state’s fleet, including trucks, snow plows, front-end loaders and motor graders.
Nebraska’s real push is for manpower and communication. More than 1,000 trained employees will handle weather-related highway emergencies. Employees undergo winter operation training to prepare them for snow and ice control procedures and to familiarize them with the equipment and the routes they will use. A multi-state meeting was held to coordinate winter operations and establish communication. Local meetings are held to discuss methods, concerns and coordination of efforts. Law enforcement and media are included in these meetings.
Nebraska has several RWIS sensors in place, which allow supervisors to gather weather and road condition information at selected sites and transmit that information to the public via the Web site. More locations are planned.
Communicating conditions to the public also is a priority for the Department of Roads. Newspaper ads and fliers urging cautious driving have been placed. Once the weather hits, travelers can obtain information from changeable message signs along I-80 and on other highways. DTN monitors at 25 rest areas will update drivers on conditions across the state. A toll-free number is available 24 hours a day at 800/906-9069. And the state’s Web site offers road reports and travel information recorded by observers, with links to weather sites: www.dor.state.ne.us.
Kansas
Nebraska’s neighbor, Kansas, uses technology extensively to convey weather and road conditions to travelers. Forty-one road weather information system sites across the state monitor conditions. Sensors are placed on bridges and highways to report atmospheric conditions, pavement temperatures and wind.
According to Jaci Vogel, assistant chief of construction and maintenance of the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT), each garage has Intranet and Internet access, allowing crews to monitor conditions as well as report them. Dump trucks are equipped with pavement temperature sensors to provide up to date information. She said that the state’s Web site www.ink.org/public/kdot/index.html offers a weather condition hot line as well as links to the weather channel.
Other than communication, Kansas handles its snow and ice removal a bit differently than some other midwestern states. Vogel said KDOT doesn’t use snow fences in the plains state – live or traditional. Although the flat land suffers from problems of blowing and drifting snow, she noted that they’ve had little success working with landowners in getting snow fences raised, and that the state doesn’t own enough right of way to effectively erect snow fences without the cooperation of landowners.
Kansas does not use Ice Ban or other similar anti-icing products. Salt brine is the anti-icer of choice. “We’ve been implementing anti-icing techniques for three years,” Vogel explained. “We add liquid spreaders and pre-wetting tanks to our fleet every year.”
That and other equipment undergoes annual inspections. “It’s our policy to have winter prep and refresher at each location,” she stated. “We meet in Salina in August for an annual winter maintenance update. We rotate one-third of our maintenance employees through it every year. They get a chance to meet other DOTs and vendors, see demonstrations. There are a lot of changes going on in this arena; it gives us a chance to see what others are experiencing. I’ve been impressed that some of the most experienced people in the country are at KDOT.”
Vogel herself has 11 years at Kansas, with two years prior at Wyoming.
Although the last few years have presented mild winters, Vogel said they always prepare for the worst case scenario. Fortunately, they were prepared when they got hit with 10 inches of snow the first week of November.
South Dakota
Construction and Maintenance Engineer Norm Humphrey said that South Dakota measures its snowfalls in feet, not inches. Even so, the kind of precipitation varies across the wide plains state, with heavy, wet snow in the hills, ice in the southeastern regions and blowing snow across the western state. That affects how the DOT approaches treatment.
“For blowing snow, if it’s dry, we don’t put a lot of chemicals or liquid on the pavement,” Humphrey explained. “We try to keep it plowed, but sometimes we have to close the interstates. Visibility is our biggest nemesis. We can have total white outs for extended distances – that would be the reason for closures.
“If it blows in the eastern portion of the state where there’s flat farmland, we use a living snow fence program to reduce drifting,” he continued. “But in the west where there’s pasture and not a lot of trees, it’s tougher. A lot of the soil is not suitable for growing trees out there. The topography of South Dakota is so diverse.”
The 25 maintenance units with 65 shops do what they can. To prepare for the harsh weather, they participate in a pre-winter check for equipment called the PM program for winter. In September or early October they attend a snow fighter rodeo. “They drive trucks with snow plows through courses at various skill levels,” Humphrey said. “The top five of all four regions go to a state-wide rodeo. It starts people thinking of that activity. We also have training on the equipment and discussions about methods at the rodeos.”
Once the rodeo is over, the DOT allows its local supervisors to do their own scheduling in order to deal with the storms in their areas. “The local supervisor understands the weather conditions in his area and has the authority to direct operations,” he stated.
One tool to help direct activity as well as advise travelers is the state’s Web site: www.state.sd.us/dot. A simple mouse click on an area of the map provides detailed weather and road information. More than 30 weather-sensing stations throughout the state transmit information from field personnel. The Web site is updated four times a day with pavement and air temperatures from 47 site-specific locations.
Humphrey said the DOT contracts for weather forecasting, including two-day and five-day forecasts by zone. When bad weather strikes, the DOT attacks with more than 400 trucks. This year they are expanding their use of magnesium chloride liquid and salt abrasive. They have been experimenting with Ice Ban at six sites and will begin trying other new products. However, they are not using it as a direct-applied liquid, but as a coating for salt and a salt/sand mixture.
North Dakota
North Dakota also uses rock salt mixed with sand, and has found that pre-wetting it produces better results, according to Ed Ryan, assistant maintenance engineer for North Dakota’s DOT. He said they have been using salt brine for anti-icing, but it’s not standard procedure yet because its effective temperature range is limited.
The state has purchased brine equipment, however, for anti-icing and pre-wetting the sand. They also own brine makers and storage tanks. He noted that the western part of the state gets brine from the oil companies. Other equipment is constantly updated and replaced as necessary.
Ryan explained that the Minnesota DOT equipment operators come to train NDDOT operators and to calibrate the machinery. “This year we got half the district trained before the snow hit,” he said. “Usually we have it completed by October, but the blizzards canceled the rest of training until after Christmas.”
Like its sister state, North Dakota participates in the annual snow fighters rodeo in September. “Usually we get hit with snow right after it, but everyone’s in the mood to get into it,” Humphrey noted. “It’s a good competition – the guys compete for prizes. The top winners go to the state rodeo, and the winners of that go to the national rodeo in Estes Park, CO.” The rodeos also provide an opportunity for equipment inspections.
Because the winters are usually long and snow-filled in the state, the NDDOT likes to explore all options for fighting Mother Nature’s fury. A snow fence program is proving successful. For the past three years, the DOT has been participating in a joint effort with the soil conservation agency and the forestry service to plant trees.
“We tried working with farmers to leave crops standing, but they let cattle in to feed, and they trampled the stalks, so it wasn’t effective,” Humphrey said. “But we had to try something, because in ’96 to ’97 we had the interstate closed seven times. Our snowplow operators worked from Halloween to March with no breaks. It’s at least one hour from one major town to the next in North Dakota. Each equipment operator is responsible for 50 miles. At times, we just can’t keep up with the storms. We’ve had to pull plows off the roads – usually due to visibility. If we can reduce some of the blowing and drifting, it will help our crews.”
NDDOT maintains a Web site (www.state.nd.us/dot/) featuring a colorized map with detailed road reports that are updated several times a day by the equipment operators. There are 14 road sensors providing atmospheric and road conditions – information that is linked to the site.
“A lot of our technology spawned off the ITS program,” Ryan said. “We contract with a company for site-specific weather forecasts: precipitation, predictions, two-day and five-day forecasts, pavement temperatures. It’s much more accurate than the national forecasts. It used to be only for maintenance crews only, but now we put it on the Web site.”
But the Web site is limited. Ryan explained, “The Internet is okay for pre-trip planning, but we need to provide information to the travelling public. North Dakota is very rural – you’re going to end up a long way from your computer.”
The # (meaning the pound key on a phone pad) Safe Program allows travelers to call from their cell phone to get weather and road condition reports up to an hour up the road from their current location. “North Dakota, South Dakota, the University of North Dakota and the cell phone company have joined together to provide this service. It’s now statewide and in Minnesota, and other states are interested. People really like it – we get a lot of good comments.
“We’re always looking to improve things,” Ryan continued. “It’s a slow process.” He said he anticipates what he calls a “good winter.” With 18 inches of snow already in Bismark by early November, “good” may be a matter of opinion.
Lori Lovely
Lori Lovely is an award-winning journalist, editor and author of the children's book Isadora's Dance. She has worked for newspapers, magazines and niche publications, covering a wide-ranging list of topics that includes motor sports, construction, MSW, energy, environmental issues, water, animal rights and issues, history, Native American issues and people, real estate and home decor, farming and more. Her degrees in History taught this dedicated professional to research thoroughly and ask detailed questions in order to winnow interesting facts that convey the essence of the story. As a seasoned writer and compassionate storyteller, she accurately portrays the subject in a manner that entrances the reader.
When she's not working on assignment, Lori is tending to her historic Indiana farm, where she raises alpacas. An inveterate animal lover, this vegetarian enjoys spending time with her animals and working in her garden.
Read more from Lori Lovely here.
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