FINAL REPORT WYDOT WY-18/03F A Comprehensive Technology Assessment for Highway Avalanche Hazard Management: ‘Choosing the Right Tool for the Job’ Rand Decker, Ph.D., Principal Investigator 83 El Camino Tesoros, Sedona, Arizona 86336 (928) 202-8156 [email protected] Disclaimer Notice This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Wyoming Department of Transportation (WYDOT) in the interest of information exchange. WYDOT assumes no liability for the use of the information contained in this document. WYDOT does not endorse products or manufacturers. Trademarks or manufacturers’ names appear in this report only because they are considered essential to the objective of the document. Quality Assurance Statement WYDOT provides high-quality information to serve Government, industry, and the public in a manner that promotes public understanding. Standards and policies are used to ensure and maximize the quality, objectivity, utility, and integrity of its information. 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For example, other rights such as publicity, privacy, or moral rights may limit how you use the material. TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE 1. Report No. 2. Government Accession No. 3. Recipient’s Catalog No. WY-18/03F 4. Title and Subtitle 5. Report Date A Comprehensive Technology Assessment for Highway December 2017 Avalanche Hazard Management: Choosing the Right Tool for the Job 6. Performing Organization Code: 7. Author(s) 8. Performing Organization Report No. Rand Decker (ORCID: 0000-0002-5487-1392) 9. Performing Organization Name and Address 10. Work Unit No. Rand Decker, Sole Proprietor 11. Contract or Grant No. 83 El Camino Tesoros, Sedona, Arizona 86336 RS06-211 (928)202-8156, [email protected] 12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address 13. Type of Report and Period Wyoming Department of Transportation Final Report 5300 Bishop Blvd 14. Sponsoring Agency Cheyenne, WY 82009-3340 Code WYDOT Research Center (307)777-4182 WYDOT 15. Supplementary Notes This research was conducted in cooperation with the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s Research Center. 16. Abstract: There are a dozen different technologies that can be naturally sub-divided into two very different avalanche control and defense paradigms that can be used to manage avalanche hazards on mountain highways: active avalanche control and passive/constructed avalanche defense. The Wyoming Department of Transportation’s (WYDOT) avalanche control and defense program in and around Jackson, Wyoming, utilizes five different active avalanche control technologies and one passive/constructed deployment of snow supporting structures. In this report, metrics of cost for these avalanche control and defense technologies are analyzed. The seasonal cost of WYDOT’s avalanche control and defense program rose from $97,000 in 2008/09 to $172,000 by 2015/16, largely in response to investment in modern active control and passive/constructed avalanche defense. As a consequence, traffic delays have been reduced, as have reliance on the military howitzer for active avalanche control. Traffic delays can be further reduced through investment in high capacity avalanche debris cleanup capabilities. As the seasonal costs for WYDOT’s avalanche control and defense program have grown, the percent fraction of these program costs for personnel has declined. There is a margin to improve capacity building and professional development of existing and future WYDOT avalanche control personnel. In large part to free up WYDOT active avalanche control personnel to focus on State Route 22, on Teton Pass, it is recommended that US Route 189/191, in Hoback Canyon, be defended in the future with snow-net snow supporting structures. State Route 22 on Teton Pass is poised to become a state-of-the-art active avalanche control program, and needs to be. Despite the successful reduction in its use, the military weapon component of WYDOT’s active avalanche control program provides low cost redundancy and should be maintained in reserve. There are traffic delays from avalanche control of two different durations, short delays of an hour or less, and much more uncommon delays of several hours or more. Long duration traffic delay for avalanche control can be managed to further reduce its impacts on motorists. 17. Key Words 18. Distribution Statement Wyoming, WYDOT, Technology, Assessment, This document is available through the National Avalanche, Avalanche Control, Active Control, Transportation Library and the Wyoming State Library. Passive/Constructed Defense, Traffic Delay, Costs, Copyright © 2011. All rights reserved, State of Wyoming, Transportation, Highway, State Route 22, Teton Pass, Wyoming Department of Transportation, and Rand Decker. US Route 189/191, Hoback Canyon, US Route 89, Snake River Canyon, Snow Shed, Snow Gallery, Snow Bridges, Snow Rake, Hand Charge, Heli-bombing, Military Weapon, Howitzer, Avalanche Guard, GAZEX®, TAS O’Bellx® 19. Security Classif. (of this 20. Security Classif. (of this 21. No. of Pages 22. Price report) Unclassified page) Unclassified 70 Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized. i Source: Turner-Fairbank Highway Research Center R&D ii Table of Contents CHAPTER 1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1 CHAPTER 2. PROBLEM STATEMENT 7 CHAPTER 3. PROJECT BACKGROUND 9 3.1. Avalanche forecasting and active control 10 3.2. Passive/constructed avalanche defense 26 3.3. WYDOT’s avalanche control and defense program 31 CHAPTER 4. INVESTIGATIVE METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS 41 4.1. Avalanche Control and Defense Cost Metrics 41 4.2. Visualization and discussion of seasonal costs for avalanche control and defense technologies 42 4.3. Modern Active Avalanche Control Technologies, Reduction in Traffic Delay, Long and Short Delays 53 4.4. The intangibles in avalanche control and defense 54 CHAPTER 5. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION 57 5.1. Being committed to active avalanche control 57 5.2. What does WYDOT do with a surplus military howitzer 57 5.3. When does passive/constructed avalanche defense make sense? 58 5.4. Recommendations by site 59 5.4.1. US 189/191, Hoback Canyon 59 5.4.2. State Route 22, Teton Pass 60 5.4.3. US Route 89, Snake River Canyon 61 5.4.5. US Route 189/191, RM 151 Avalanche, south of Jackson, Wyoming 61 5.5. Open questions, resources and recommendations for future research 62 5.5.1. Should WYDOT continue to collect and analyze avalanche program data like these? 62 5.5.2. There are two different durations of delay – should they be managed differently? 62 5.5.3. Severe storms when ‘avalanche control’ is no longer a possibility. 63 iii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1. A typical explosive charge used to initiate avalanches while a threaten highway is temporarily closed. It can be delivered into the avalanche starting zone by personnel who have climbed to that position, by helicopter, or from a ‘mortar’ located in or near the avalanche