Abstract
Efficiency of winter operations is essential for cities in cold regions because fiscal budgets are limited and excessive amounts of street sand and salt can negatively impact the environment. A review of winter maintenance policies in major Canadian cities has shown that freeways, business areas, and routes to transit and emergency venues are treated as priority. On these routes, snow is piled on the roadsides until it narrows the road width and decreases drivers’ visibility. At such time, the snow piles are hauled to specific snow storage or eliminator locations. In cities with relatively warmer climatic conditions, such as Ottawa, Toronto, and Montreal, high amounts of street salt are used annually. In cities with extremely cold winters, such as Edmonton, Calgary, and Winnipeg, Canada, sanding is more common. Friction measurement devices, which have been developed in a number of diverse models, can provide data to compare and improve winter maintenance operations. Road friction measuring devices are not used for operations in Canada, but highway agencies and municipalities have begun researching and evaluating different devices and their effectiveness in optimizing winter operations.
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Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge the financial support provided by the City of Edmonton, Canada, for this project. Dr. Hamid Soleymani is acknowledged for his assistance with the literature review. Ms. Bianca Angotti from Archbishop MacDonald High school is acknowledged for her assistance with the literature review.
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Information & Authors
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Published In
Journal of Cold Regions Engineering
Volume 29 • Issue 3 • September 2015
Copyright
© 2014 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: Nov 7, 2013
Accepted: Aug 20, 2014
Published online: Oct 7, 2014
Discussion open until: Mar 7, 2015
Published in print: Sep 1, 2015
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