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New Clear Roads Research: Identifying Environmentally Sensitive Roadways

Chlorides are effective deicers but using them can have environmental consequences.  

A variety of factors, such as soil type, drainage, nearby waterways, and land use, can influence a roadside’s sensitivity to chlorides. By adjusting application rates or employing other strategies, agencies can lessen the harmful effects in locations where it’s needed most.   

To help agencies identify which highway segments are most sensitive, this Clear Roads project developed
a geospatial tool that offers an analysis of environmental impacts that can be balanced against other safety and performance objectives.

Download the GIS tool, final report and two-page brief: Using GIS to Highlight Highway Segments Sensitive to Deicing Materials, June 2024.

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New Clear Roads Research: Evaluating the Effectiveness of Deicers

A standardized laboratory test is important for assessing the performance of deicers, and helping transportation agencies make informed decisions when it comes to purchasing materials for the winter season. However, ice melting tests have traditionally been difficult to perform in a repeatable, reliable manner.

This Clear Roads project identified equipment improvements and refinements to the mechanical rocker test, giving agencies a more accurate tool for evaluating deicer performance.

Download the final report and two-page brief: Standard Test Procedures for Ice Melting Capacity of Deicers, June 2024.

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Clear Roads Members Share Product Experiences

Thinking of trying a new winter maintenance product? See what Clear Roads members have to say!

After each winter season, Clear Roads invites its members to share feedback on the winter maintenance products and materials they piloted during the previous season. The informal responses, which have been compiled for the past 16 winter seasons, provide a valuable peer-to-peer resource that any transportation agency can use as it considers a new product purchase.

Product categories include:

  • Blades and Plows
  • Brine Makers/Blenders
  • Cameras
  • Deicers/Chemicals
  • GPS/AVL Systems
  • Information Management Systems/Sensors
  • Lighting Systems
  • Spreaders and Liquid Application Systems
  • Windshields/Wipers

The results from the most recent survey — as well as the combined results from 2006-2023 — are now available in the newly updated Product Experience Feedback report.

Learn more on Clear Roads’ Product Experience Survey page.

Image source: Minnesota Department of Transportation

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Winter Maintenance Research Roundup

Check out the recent research from transportation organizations around the country:

  • Cooperative Automation Driving System (C-ADS) with Road Weather Management (RWM) with a Lane Closure, Federal Highway Administration, December 2023. Fact sheet.
  • Field Test & Evaluation of a Solar Snow Fence, National Cooperative Highway Research Program, May 2023. Research report.
  • Snow Depth Retrieval with an Autonomous UAV-Mounted Software-Defined Radar, Colorado DOT, April 2023. Research report.

Image source: Colorado Department of Transportation

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Winter Maintenance Research in Progress

New research is underway! Learn more about some of the winter maintenance issues that Clear Roads and other transportation organizations around the country are exploring now:

  • Automating Variable Speed Limits Using Weather, Traffic, and Friction Data, Aurora Pooled Fund. Anticipated completion date: January 2025. Project description.
  • Developing a Collision Warning and Collision Avoidance System for WYDOT Snowplows, Wyoming DOT. Anticipated completion date: April 2024. Project proposal.
  • Development of a Public Service Announcement Library, Clear Roads Pooled Fund. Anticipated completion date: March 2025. Project description.
  • pH Waiver for Deicing Products and the Qualified Products List, Clear Roads Pooled Fund. Anticipated completion date: April 2025. Project description.

Image source: Michigan Department of Transportation

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New Clear Roads Research: Efficacy, Cost and Impacts of Non-Chloride Deicers

Salt products used during winter maintenance can corrode vehicles, damage vegetation and contaminate road-side wells and waterways. Non-chloride deicers could potentially serve as viable substitutes, but their pros and cons have not always been been well understood.

To help agencies compare and choose the right deicer for their needs, this Clear Roads project synthesized the benefits and drawbacks of non-chloride deicers. The research also produced data sheets for deicers in four categories, and may inform changes to Clear Roads’ Qualified Products List in the future.

Download the final report and two-page brief: Efficacy, Cost, and Impacts of Non-Chloride Deicers, December 2023.

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New Podcast Episodes from Talkin Winter Ops

Check out these recent episodes from AASHTO’s Talkin Winter Ops podcast:

Help is On the Way (Episode 95): Artificial intelligence has become a big part of winter maintenance. In this episode, Tom Brummet, a software engineer with the National Center for Atmospheric Research talks about his work with AI and what advancements may be on the horizon. November 1, 2023. Podcast.

2nd Chances (Episode 94): In the final installment of the four-part workforce series, Lauren Hunter, City of Columbus Department of Public Service Human Resource Officer and Infrastructure Operations Coordinator Scott Lucas discuss their efforts to address staffing shortfalls through a vocational program partnership with the Ohio Reformatory for Women in Marysville, Ohio. October 17, 2023. Podcast.

It’s Not Just a Job (Episode 93): In part 3 of this series on workforce issues, Pasco Bakotich, State Maintenance Engineer for the Washington State DOT describes the successes and benefits of the agency’s program to attract high school students to careers in transportation maintenance. September 30, 2023. Podcast.

Why’s that Snowplow Pink? (Episode 92): Snowplows have traditionally been operated by men. But as recruiting and retaining qualified operators becomes more challenging, transportation agencies across the country are getting creative to change this occupational stereotype. In the second installment of the podcast’s series on workforce issues, Sandi Sauter, Maryland SHA’s Deputy Director of Operations, discussed the importance of diversity and why her agency may paint the blades on its women-driven snowplows a bright shade of pink in an attempt to encourage more women to drive plows. September 14, 2023. Podcast.

This Ain’t Your Dad’s Workforce (Episode 91): In the first installment of a four-part series on workforce issues in winter maintenance, Bill Lambert from New Hampshire DOT and Lee Wilkinson from the Iowa DOT discuss their involvement with the NCHRP Domestic Scan project “Leading Practices in Strategic Workforce Management by Transportation Agencies,” and what the scan team learned. September 6, 2023. Podcast.

Where’s SICOP? (Episode 90): Back in August, the Snow and Ice Pooled Fund Cooperative Program (SICOP) announced its transition to the Winter Weather Management Technical Service Program. In this episode, program coordinator Rick Nelson briefly explains what has changed with the rebranding effort and what will continue to stay the same. August 23, 2023. Podcast.

Image source: Rhode Island Department of Transportation

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Clear Roads Now Solicits Research Ideas Year-Round

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Dynamic message signDo you have a winter maintenance problem that you think research can solve? Submit your problem statement now and it could become a Clear Roads research project.

Anyone in the winter maintenance community can submit their idea and have it considered by the Clear Roads Technical Advisory Committee (TAC).

Clear Roads funds research that addresses six winter maintenance initiatives: planning, equipment, materials, training, technology, and safety. The ideas and problem statements that best meet Clear Roads’ priorities will be developed into full-scale research solicitations (RFPs) and posted by Minnesota DOT for competitive bid.

Simply email this completed Research Idea Form to Greg Waidley at greg.waidley@ctcandassociates.com by December 31 for consideration during the following year’s research cycle.

To learn more about Clear Roads research opportunities, please sign up to receive Clear Roads email updates.

For a list of research ideas considered in past years, see the All Proposed Projects page.

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Clear Roads Wins 2023 Chloride Reduction Leadership Award

The Salt Symposium is an annual event that brings industry leaders together to share and discuss new developments and research initiatives that aim to reduce the environmental impacts of chlorides.

At this year’s Salt Symposium on August 1-2, Clear Roads received one of six 2023 Chloride Reduction Leadership Awards in recognition of its efforts to research and identify and implement practical solutions that save agencies money, improve safety, and increase efficiency.

“I wholeheartedly accept this award on behalf of the 39 state transportation departments and the FHWA, who are actively supporting and participating in this pooled fund effort,” said Tom Peters of Minnesota DOT, Clear Roads’ lead state.

Learn more about the Salt Symposium and the other award winners at www.bolton-menk.com/salt-symposium.