Focus Area: Winter Maintenance and Effects
Stateline Highlights Unpaved Roads Research
Stateline, a national website covering trends in state policy, published a feature story on a recent WTI project on the pros, cons, and costs of converting low-volume paved roads to unpaved roads. In “Dirt Roads Help Some Cities, Counties Drive Down Costs,” Stateline interviewed Principal Investigator Laura Fay about her research for the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, which sought to explore how commonly and under what conditions transportation agencies are converting paved roads to unpaved roads. Through a national survey, the project identified 48 agencies that have completed conversions, 70 conversion projects, and 550 miles of converted roadway. Click here to read the Stateline article.
Highway Anti-Icing Products and Applications
Field Usage of Alternative Deicers for Snow and Ice Control
Estimating the Application Rate for Liquid Chloride Products Based on Residual Salt Concentration on the Pavement
WTI hosts Summer Workshop for Environmentally Sustainable Transportation in Cold Climates
The Center for Environmentally Sustainable Transportation in Cold Climates (CESTiCC) held its annual summer Workshop in Bozeman on August 12. Participants and presenters represented multiple organizations including University of Alaska – Fairbanks, Washington State University, University of Wisconsin – Platteville, University of Texas-San Antonio, University of Tennessee – Knoxville, Michigan Tech, KC Harvey Environmental, and Montana DEQ. The workshop hosted presentations, updates, and a poster session on CESTiCC projects, followed by tours of the MSU campus and WTI labs. On Saturday, Rob Ament and Marcel Huijser hosted field visits of three CESTiCC projects in the Gallatin Valley. Participants were then taken to Yellowstone National Park to visit Old Faithful to cap off the workshop. Special thanks to Laura Fay and her Fairbanks cohorts for organizing a successful workshop.
Winter Maintenance Work featured on Roads and Bridges Website
The August 29 issue of Roads and Bridges included an article written by WTI’s Anburaj Muthumani and Laura Fay on assessing the use of snowplow lighting for optimal safety. “Can you see me now?” highlights the work done by the research team for the Clear Roads Best Practices Guide for snowplow lighting. Led by WTI, the team has compiled these findings into a best practices guide for winter maintenance agencies. The guide and the project final report are available on the Clear Roads website (www.clearroads.org). To read the Roads and Bridges article, visit: http://www.roadsbridges.com/can-you-see-me-now
