Local governments, road agencies prepare for winter

It’s that time of year…shorter days, kids back in school, lots of football. While we enjoy the activity and beauty of autumn in Southeast Michigan, the reality is that winter comes next!

For most of us, preparing for winter means retrieving our coats, hats, and boots from our closets, and taking our vehicles in for tune-ups. While we prepare, so do regional road agencies. They have already begun securing materials, supplies, vehicles, and training personnel to ensure that roads and walkways are clear and safe for all of us.

On September 29th, SEMCOG conducted its 8th Annual Winter Maintenance Workshop. The workshop brought together operations experts from communities across the region to discuss practices and techniques for keeping regional roadways and walkways safe and efficient during inclement winter weather. Dealing with the reality of constrained budgets, communities are developing better practices and taking advantage of new technologies to maximize existing resources to keep roads clear and safe. These best practices, along with equipment demonstrations, were on full display at the workshop.

More than 125 attendees participated in the day-long event hosted by the City of Farmington Hills Department of Public Works. Kevin McCarthy, DPW Superintendent, and Bryan Pickworth, Road Maintenance Supervisor, from Farmington Hills, began the workshop by describing their new maintenance facility. The redesigned facility enables Farmington Hills to shift from a solid, salt-based approach to winter maintenance to a liquid-based approach using brine. This shift allows roads to be pre-treated and prevent snow and ice from bonding to pavement. The automated systems used in the new facility allow for quicker vehicle filling and consistent application which reduces time and costs.

Matt Wiktorowski, Novi Field Operations Senior Manager, discussed clearing roads and maintaining roadway service with budget, time, and personnel constraints. An important strategy included keeping the public informed about road conditions through social media, community meetings, and other traditional forms of outreach. He cited the use of Wing plows retrofitted to existing vehicles that clear roadways in one-third of the time previously needed. These efforts have contributed to fewer traffic crashes over the past several years.

Melissa Howe, Matt Pratt, and Scott Geiger, from the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) discussed tools available for road agencies, equipment used, and ways for the public to stay informed. MDOT uses a software tool – Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) that monitors weather and environmental conditions that affect pavement much more comprehensively than traditional weather reporting. With this detailed/historic information, road agencies are better able to make decisions regarding road treatment. In addition, MDOT also makes sure to calibrated vehicles to ensure the proper treatment applications, as well as using techniques such as living snow fences to cut down on snow drifts, making roadways more visible for drivers.

MDOT’s presentation also featured the Mi-Drive mobile app, which keeps motorists safe, mobile, and informed with real-time travel information that includes weather, current incidents, drive times, freeway camera images, and other beneficial travel information that may make commutes safer. The web version of Mi-Drive displays snowplow locations to inform drives which roads have been cleared.

The keynote speaker was Diana Clonch, of DW Clonch, LLC (formerly from the Ohio Department of Transportation). She shared her knowledge and experiences of winter best practices accumulated during her 30-year career, focusing on those currently used by road agencies in our region – such as using liquids (brine) over solids (salt), preventing ice rather than mitigating its removal, automating control for proper application, using technology to reduce human error, and ensuring that equipment operates as efficiently as possible with preventive maintenance.

The day wrapped up with Richard Pollman, Warning Coordination Meteorologist, from the National Weather Service, who outlined the tools available to road agencies and the general public to monitor weather. A dashboard for forecasts and current weather conditions is available at the National Weather Service website. The website also announces watches, warnings, and other important advisories. Road agencies can use the information to target locations for road treatments, while the general public can use the site to plan their commute.

The highlight of Pollman’s presentation was NWS’s outlook for the upcoming winter season. Unlike last year, the forecast is for neither an El Niño (warm oceanic temperature) nor a La Niña (colder oceanic temperature) winter. It means that this winter will be colder, stormier, and snowier than last year.

With forecasts showing a more intense winter season this year, it is important that our road agencies are equipped and prepared to keep our roads clear and safe. As demonstrated at the Winter Maintenance workshop, road agencies across the region have prepared for the challenges ahead and will continue to not only use the best available practices, but also share information and support to ensure our lives are not interrupted by winter weather, thus enabling us to travel safely to our daily destinations. For more details on what we learned, presentations from this workshop are available on our website.