SDDOT’s strategic plan includes a short-term goal of reducing winter-related crashes (South Dakota Department of Transportation). One strategy that can be employed to support this goal is the installation of snow fences. Snow fences are designed to disrupt the wind flow carrying snow particles causing them to drop from the wind stream and deposit them at the snow fence instead of the roadway (Du, Petrie, & Shi, 2017). Snow will start to blow when winds reach about fifteen miles per hour (Tabler, 2003). Blowing snow can have significant impacts considering that the amount blown onto the roadway

can be one hundred times that which falls onto the road (Du, Petrie, & Shi, 2017). Blowing snow can reduce a driver’s visibility and cause snow drifts to form on roadways. In rural areas, where detection and subsequent response times can be delayed, as a result of distances between emergency medical services and where crashes may occur, the consequences can be fatal. Furthermore, where snow drifts occur, additional effort is required to treat and maintain passable roadways. This project will prioritize the top 100 blowing snow non-interstate locations and develop a guidance document.