Salt and Highway Deicing newsletter

Duane E. "Dewey" Amsler
Salt Institute
Salt and Highway Deicing newsletter
Fall 2006
Creating and maintaining an approved snow and ice control plan is one of the most important things a highway agency can do to ensure against chaos during snow emergencies, deliver a more consistent level of service, limit tort liabiltiy and build positive community support. Examples include the Indiana Department of Transportation; Rockland County, NY and the Township of Cranberry, PA. Part 2 of this three-part series discusses administration and planning.

Duane E. "Dewey" Amsler
Salt Institute
Salt and Highway Deicing newsletter
Winter 2007
Creating and maintaining an approved snow and ice control plan is one of the most important things a highway agency can do to ensure against chaos during snow emergencies, deliver a more consistent level of service, limit tort liabiltiy and build positive community support. Examples include the Indiana Department of Transportation; Rockland County, NY and the Township of Cranberry, PA. Part 3 of this three-part series discusses operations and materials management.

Richard L. Hanneman
Salt Institute
Salt and Highway Deicing newsletter
Spring 2007
There are more than a dozen commercial deicers available to snowfighters in North America. NCHRP Report 577 analyzes 15 materials and mixtures, 42 different deicing products in all, using a new tool that allows agency managers to fine-tune their local priorities for each material's cost and for the various environmental and infrastructure impacts. The tool then crunches the data and delivers a comparative analysis according to the locally-determined priorities. The tool enables managers to educate elected policy-makers and the general public and perform "what if" scenarios with differing priority options.

Richard L. Hanneman
Salt Institute
Salt and Highway Deicing newsletter
Summer 2007
Operating public highways has become more "customer-driven" and customers, the driving public and individuals, businesses and industries that rely on highways to deliver people and goods, are demanding better service. Progressive managers have responded by developing performance measures to unlock the benefits of the massive investment in this public infrastructure. Traffic speed and elapsed travel time are two of the outcomes measures used to judge system performance. Consumers, however, value system reliability even more than shorter travel times. Thus, the familiar, recurring "rush hour" congestion is more tolerable than the uncertainty of such "non-recurring" events as snowstorms, work zones and traffic incidents. Collecting the right data is an emerging challenge -- and an emerging expectation.

Duane E. "Dewey" Amsler
Salt Institute
Salt and Highway Deicing newsletter
Fall 2007
State and provincial laws govern agency liability associated with snow and ice control operations. Knowledge of vehicle and traffic laws such as the federal Commercial Drivers License law, Public officers law, and insurance law are critical. Agencies often enjoy limited immunity from tort liability, but the shield is not complete. Snowfighting managers can manage their risks through training to avoid crashes and minimize environmental impacts. Good procedures include policy statements, pro-active preparation through identifying potential negative impacts and monitoring and record-keeping diligence.

Duane E. "Dewey" Amsler
Salt Institute
Salt and Highway Deicing newsletter
Winter 2008
Level of service (LOS) is the determined outcome that is the objective of snowfighting operations. LOS should be considered for in-storm and after-storm as separate measures. It is important that snowfighters move beyond inputs and outputs to focus on outcomes, the true measure of performance. Such measures can be visual, the presence of an ice/pavement bond, friction measures or various readings from sensors embedded in the pavement. Choice of strategy and materials will strongly influence outcomes.

Duane E. "Dewey" Amsler
Salt Institute
Salt and Highway Deicing newsletter
Spring 2008
The harsh 2007-2008 winter with record snowfall reminds us that having adequate supplies of salt is important insurance against the anxiety of running out...or worse, the unthinkable, actually facing a snowstorm with no salt. Storing a full (average) year's requirements, beginning the winter with full storage facilities, having an emergency plan to acquire or conserve salt and exploring cooperative arrangements with neighboring communities are strongly recommended. And, of course, practicing Sensible Salting in the storage and application of salt is imperative.

Duane E. "Dewey" Amsler
Salt Institute
Salt and Highway Deicing newsletter
Summer 2008
Inexperienced snowfighting managers are tempted by the mirage of "savings" by scrimping on training as they stretch diminishing resources for personnel, equipment and materials. Agency operations benefit from effective snow and ice training, but many managers don't recognize that customers, as well, benefit through better service (including fewer mailboxes being destroyed!). Hard benefit-cost calculations of training are difficult, but efforts by the NYS DOT, Utah DOT, AZ DOT and Fortin Consulting are worth reviewing. When considering who should be trained, take off the blinders; think broadly. Training can be on on the job, on the computer, in the parking lot or in classrooms; outcomes are what matters. LTAP Centers can be a good source of training workshops.

Creating and maintaining an approved written snow and ice control plan is one of the most important things a highway maintenance agency can do for itself, its governmental entity, its community and its customers. This document is a combination of three separate articles written for Salt and Highway Deicing newsletter by Duane E. (Dewey) Amsler.