Current Practices of Winter Maintenance Operations and Perceptions of Winter Weather Conditions

Abstract

The annual cost of winter maintenance in the United States is approximately $2.3 billion, which makes measuring the performance of state departments of transportation (DOTs) a financially responsible and mission-critical task to improve services, strengthen accountability, and provide better information for effective decision making and resource allocation. Although state DOTs are increasingly interested in current trends for winter performance measurements, the data documenting performance are limited. This study synthesizes the current practices of winter maintenance operations and identifies the most commonly used performance measures and the impact of weather information on winter maintenance operations by conducting a survey of 31 state DOTs. The results indicate that (1) state DOTs are more dependent on weather information for planning rather than tactical purposes; (2) snowfall, road temperature, and freezing rain are the most important weather variables, and (3) labor/equipment hours and material quantities are the most frequently used performance measures. This study can help state DOTs discern a comprehensive picture of current trends in winter performance measurements and benchmarks for best practices.