Snow and Ice Control on Gravel Roads

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Snow and Ice Control on Gravel Roads

• A Workshop for Practitioners
• Participant Workbook

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Workshop Overview

• Presentation was developed by SRF Consulting
  Group, Inc. for the Local Road Research Board
  under its Research Implementation Contract.
• It is intended for use by the CTAP instructor in
  conjunction with CTAPs other training tools on
  winter maintenance.
• Information was gathered through surveys and
  interviews of Minnesota maintenance personnel and
  through surveys of the 50 LTAP centers
  nationwide.
• This presentation is a compilation of current
  knowledge and practice.

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Workshop Goals

• Share information from other sources
• Participate in thinking about how service is
  delivered
• Discuss policies (if any) for snow removal
• Hear your best practices
• Improve service by knowledge sharing, so everyone
  can do a better job of plowing gravel roads
  safely

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Service Expectations

• What service expectations do your customers have?

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Policies Can Change Expectations

• Does your locality have written or other formal
  policies for winter road maintenance?

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Storm Scenario 1

• Its Halloween (October 31), and a stormfront is
  moving in from Canada. Since it is rather early
  in the winter storm season, the ground is not yet
  frozen hard. The storm begins at 1130 in the
  morning with a steady rain, which, as
  temperatures drop throughout the day, turns to
  freezing rain by 400 in the afternoon. Soon
  thereafter, the freezing rain turns to snow and
  the temperature drops to 15 degrees. By 730 in
  the evening, a total of five inches of snow has
  accumulated.
• Service parameters are A plow route of 15
  miles, equipment choice a grader or a truck
  with a wheel to guide the plow.
• Please work within your group to come up with a
  plan of action which you will then share with the
  workshop participants.

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Partnership Examples

• Does your locality partner with another? If so,
  has it been successful? If not, what went wrong?

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Getting Ready for Winter

• How do you prepare your roads/ equipment/stockpile
  , etc., for winter?

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Angles are Important

• What are your best practices for setting the
  plow angle on gravel roads? Do they differ by
  season? If so, why?

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To Pack or Not To Pack

• Does your locality plow to the gravel? Do you
  leave a snowpack? If so, to what depth? National
  research indicates a 4-inch depth is optimal.
  Would this be accepted in your locality?

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To Pack or Not to Pack (the other side)

• Would your elected officials and/or the public
  you serve accept a snowpack on certain gravel
  roads? Are there any benefits that you may see
  to leaving a snowpack?

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When to Plow

• Does your locality wait to begin the plow route
  until the storm is finished? If not, under what
  circumstances do you begin to plow before it has
  ended?

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Storm Scenario 2

• Its January 12, and a heavy winter storm is
  forecast. At 400 in the morning, the snow
  begins to fall at a rate of two inches an hour,
  with a total of ten inches accumulating by 800
  in the morning. A steady wind from the northwest
  has been blowing since about 630, and wind
  continues to blow snow and severely limit
  visibility, even after the snow has stopped.
• Service parameters are A plow route of 30
  miles, with 15 being wooded and 15 open plains
  equipment choice a grader or a truck with a
  wheel to guide the plow.
• Please work within your group to come up with a
  plan of action which you will then share with the
  workshop participants.

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Abrasives

• What abrasive does your locality use? Why do you
  use these abrasives and under what circumstances?

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Abrasives

• What does your locality do to maintain stockpile
  workability?

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Equipment Trucks

• What have you experienced relative to the use of
  plow shoes and/or wheels? Is one a more
  preferable means of maintaining blade height than
  another? If so, why?

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