Research on Best Practices for Winter Weather Operations
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Research on Best Practices for Winter Weather Operations Technical Report 0-6669-1 Cooperative Research Program PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY PRAIRIE VIEW, TEXAS TEXAS A&M TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE COLLEGE STATION, TEXAS in cooperation with the Federal Highway Administration and the Texas Department of Transportation http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6669-1.pdf Technical Report Documentation Page 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient's Catalog No. FHWA/TX-12/0-6669-1 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date RESEARCH ON BEST PRACTICES FOR WINTER WEATHER December 2011 OPERATIONS Published: October 2012 6. Performing Organization Code 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Judy A. Perkins, Judith Mwakalonge, Debbie Jasek, Jodi Carson, Report 0-6669-1 Kwaku Obeng-Boampong, and Geza Pesti 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS) Prairie View A&M University & Texas A&M Transportation Institute 11. Contract or Grant No. Prairie View, Texas 77446 Project 0-6669 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Covered Texas Department of Transportation Technical Report: Research and Technology Implementation Office November 2010–October 2011 P.O. Box 5080 14. Sponsoring Agency Code Austin, Texas 78763-5080 15. Supplementary Notes Project performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation Project Title: Best Practices for Emergency Operations URL: http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/0-6669-1.pdf 16. Abstract There is a growing need to identify actionable practices relative to winter weather operations. Because of the potential and inherent hazards during cold weather, it has become increasingly important to ensure that these practices can be effectively employed as well as protect the health and safety of employees working in extreme conditions. The research objective is to develop a winter weather operations manual for the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) districts that are vulnerable to weather-related emergencies. A synthesis of the best practices related to winter weather operations and transferable best practices are documented in the operations manual to help maintenance crews better understand how to work in challenging weather-related events. In addition, a playbook for winter storms in Texas was developed to be used for general public awareness of winter storm operations. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Snow and Ice Operations, Emergency, Winter No restrictions. This document is available to the Weather Maintenance, Winter Weather Operations public through NTIS: National Technical Information Service Alexandria, Virginia 22312 http://www.ntis.gov 19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. Security Classif. (of this page) 21. No. of Pages 22. Price Unclassified Unclassified 218 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized RESEARCH ON BEST PRACTICES FOR WINTER WEATHER OPERATIONS by Judy A. Perkins, Ph.D., PE Jodi Carson, Ph.D., PE Professor Research Engineer Prairie View A&M University Texas Transportation Institute Judith Mwakalonge, Ph.D., EIT Kwaku Obeng-Boampong Post Doctoral Researcher Assistant Research Engineer Prairie View A&M University Texas Transportation Institute Debbie Jasek Geza Pesti, Ph.D., PE Research Specialist Associate Research Engineer Texas Transportation Institute Texas Transportation Institute Report 0-6669-1 Project 0-6669 Project Title: Best Practices for Emergency Operations Performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation December 2011 Published: October 2012 PRAIRIE VIEW A&M UNIVERSITY TEXAS A&M TRANSPORTATION INSTITUTE The Texas A&M University System Prairie View, Texas 77446 DISCLAIMER This research was performed in cooperation with the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). The contents of this report reflect the views of the authors, who are responsible for the facts and the accuracy of the data presented here. The contents do not necessarily reflect the official view or policies of TxDOT. This report does not constitute a standard, specification, or regulation, nor is it intended for construction, bidding, or permit purposes. The engineer in charge of the project was Judy A. Perkins, Ph.D., P.E. The United States Government and the State of Texas do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of this report. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This project was conducted in cooperation with TxDOT and FHWA. The authors thank the following members who served on the Project Monitoring Committee throughout the course of the project: • Ted Moore, Chair. • Keith Harris. • Ron Herr. • Gilbert Jordon. • Sandra Kaderka. • Darwin Lankford. • Wade Odell. • William Parrott. • Tammy Sims. • Gary Tarter. The authors acknowledge the participation of all District and Maintenance individuals in the site visit discussions. These visits were insightful and invaluable to the project. The authors also thank the following Prairie View A&M University undergraduate researchers for their contributions throughout the course of the project: • Nadine Ford. • Tiereny Moore. • Josuha Phillips. • Kristian Smith. • Sanjay Tillmutt. • LaSasha Walker. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page List of Figures ................................................................................................................................. x List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. xi Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 Background and Significance of Work ....................................................................................... 1 Adverse Weather Impacts ....................................................................................................... 1 State Department of Transportation Response Actions .............................................................. 1 Objectives ................................................................................................................................... 2 Work Plan ................................................................................................................................... 3 Chapter 2: Literature Review and State of the Practice .................................................................. 5 Background ................................................................................................................................. 5 Federal Plans and Efforts ............................................................................................................ 5 State Plans and Efforts ................................................................................................................ 7 New Hampshire ...................................................................................................................... 7 Minnesota ................................................................................................................................ 7 Wisconsin ................................................................................................................................ 8 Utah ......................................................................................................................................... 8 Nevada .................................................................................................................................... 9 Washington State .................................................................................................................... 9 Public Awareness Materials ........................................................................................................ 9 Emerging Advancement in Materials and Methods.................................................................. 10 Hot Water and Sand Mix (Norway) ...................................................................................... 10 Agricultural By-Products (Michigan) ................................................................................... 11 Intelligent Spreaders GPS (Denmark) .................................................................................. 11 Intelligent Spreaders GIS (Wisconsin) ................................................................................. 11 Technology ............................................................................................................................... 12 Chapter 3: Winter Weather Data Trends and patterns ................................................................. 13 Winter Weather Information ..................................................................................................... 13 Weather Data Sources ............................................................................................................... 13 Weather Forecast Information .............................................................................................. 13 Archived Weather Data......................................................................................................... 13 Winter Weather Trends and Patterns ........................................................................................ 14 State-Level Trends and Patterns ..........................................................................................