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New Name, New Episode from SICOP Talks Winter Ops Podcast

AASHTO’s Snow and Ice Pooled Fund Cooperative Program (SICOP) is now the Winter Weather Management Technical Service Program.

While this new name better reflects the group’s expanded focus on road weather management and maintenance operations, the popular Talkin’ Winter Ops podcast it produces will remain the same.

Check out the newest episode:

It’s About the Speed (Episode 89): What actually happens when you apply salt to a road during a winter event? This episode investigates the chemistry of salt and which snow and ice activities and salt solutions can make the biggest impacts.  August 8, 2023. Podcast.

Image source: Wisconsin Department of Transportation

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New Clear Roads RFPs: Proposals due Sept. 8

Clear Roads is currently soliciting investigator proposals for four new research projects:

  • Using Vegetation Management Practices Near Roads to Leverage the Benefits of Solar Radiation
  • Updating the Impact of Capital Projects Decision Support Tool
  • Quantifying the Economic Value of Snow and Ice Operational Success
  • Development of a Public Service Announcement Library

To view the details of these RFPs, visit MnDOT’s Professional Technical Consultant Services. For all projects, the deadline to submit proposals is Friday, September 8, 2023.

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Clear Roads Selects 2023 Research Projects

At its 2023 spring meeting, the Clear Roads Technical Advisory Committee reviewed new research proposals and selected projects to fund. This year, the committee selected eight projects:

  • Development of a Public Service Announcement Library
  • Quantifying the Economic Value of Snow and Ice Operational Success
  • Update to CR 14-02: Quantifying the Impact that New Capital Projects will have on Roadway Snow and Ice Control Operations
  • Solar Radiation Benefits / Chloride Reduction Potential Associated with the Use of Vegetation Management Practices Near Roads
  • Computer-based Training for the Clear Roads ELDT Modules
  • Synthesis: Management of Video Recordings and Images taken from Truck-mounted Cameras
  • Synthesis: Brine-making Practices
  • Synthesis: UAV Uses for Winter Maintenance

More information about these projects is available in the 2023 All Proposed Projects summary. Requests for investigator proposals for the new projects will be posted this summer.

The agenda, budget and minutes from the spring meeting are available on the Clear Roads Meetings page.

Image source: South Dakota DOT

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New Clear Roads RFP: Proposals Due April 7

Clear Roads has posted a Request for Proposals (RFP) for a new research project:

pH Waiver for Deicing Products and the Qualified Products List

MnDOT requests responses for a Clear Roads project that will develop guidance to help determine the appropriate pH range for deicing products included on the Clear Roads Qualified Products List (QPL), in particular, those products with a high organic compound content. Products with pH levels that are outside of an acceptable range can be a significant safety risk, leading to corrosion in highway infrastructure and environmental pollution. The goal of this project is to help Clear Roads determine the appropriate pH range for deicing products listed on the QPL. If the research confirms that pH is not the only qualifying factor for some winter maintenance products, particularly those with a low pH associated with organic material, investigators will develop a process to determine risks to highway infrastructure and the environment that are separate from pH, allowing a waiver to be considered.

Learn more at MnDOT’s Professional Technical Consultant Services page. The deadline to submit proposals is Friday, April 7, 2023.

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New Clear Roads RFPs: Proposals due Sept. 3

Clear Roads is currently soliciting investigator proposals for six new research projects:

  • Grip Sensor Technology and Salt Applications
  • Best Practices for Protecting DOT Equipment from the Corrosion Effect of Chemical Deicers (Update to CR 13-04)
  • Training Module Development for CR 18-03: Evaluation of SSI and WSI Variables
  • Evaluation of Electric Vehicle Technologies and Alternative Fuels for Winter Operations
  • Calculating Plow Cycle Times from AVL Data
  • Determining the Migration of Chloride-Based Deicers Through Different Soil Types

Please see the RFP page for more information. For all projects, the deadline to submit proposals is Friday, September 3, 2021.