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Winter Technology Testing, 2004-2005

MTO's Winter Artillery Now that winter is here, the Ministry of Transportation will be testing new innovations to improve the quality of service and reduce costs in maintenance operations. Road Talk highlights what's being evaluated for the 2004-2005 testing season. This season, testing is being done at selected locations in all five of MTO's Regions.

1. Direct Liquid Application (DLA) DLA is the use of liquids on roads to prevent snow and ice from bonding to the pavement. This technology is applied before any precipitation starts, postponing or reducing the requirement for repeated salt applications during a long storm or under drifting conditions. DLA has been in trial implementation since 2002 (see "Liquid Relief," Road Talk, November 2002). The 2004-2005 season's evaluations will directly compare costs and service levels on roads with and without DLA. The results of these evaluations will assist MTO in further refining DLA implementation in Ontario.

2. Pre-wetting of Granular Salt According to controlled tests and narrative field accounts, when granular salt has been pre-wetted, its effectiveness is improved. MTO is studying pre-wetting of granular salt to determine how it reduces overall salt use when the pre-wet rate is increased, or when different types of liquid or granular material are used. The study will help determine how MTO can maximize efficiency of material distribution at lower costs under different environmental and traffic conditions.

3. Pre-wet Sand Sand has been a regular feature of winter maintenance operations in virtually all jurisdictions, as it creates traction when packed snow cannot be removed. However, sand is constantly blown about by wind and traffic. The addition of liquids aids sand retention on the road. This project will determine whether pre-wetting winter sand improves retention on the pavement.

4. Spreader Evaluations As salt spreaders apply salt to the pavement, the momentum of the truck movement causes the salt grains to bounce and scatter. As such, spreaders are required to travel slower than the flow of traffic to minimize this effect. MTO is evaluating several different devices on spreaders that can permit an increase in maintenance vehicle speed and spread salt or sand in the required width with reduced bounce. These include pre-wetting with liquid, accelerating the salt to the travel speed as it is ejected rearward, and ejecting it through various-shaped nozzles. The upcoming trials will see how these spreader devices perform in the field under normal winter operating conditions.

5. Flexible and multiple blades for snow plows, which make better contact with the pavement, have recently become available. They have the potential to increase the effectiveness of plowing operations and thereby improve the level of service, reduce the cost and amount of road salt needed for winter maintenance. The effectiveness and overall cost-benefit of these blades will be compared to standard blades under a variety of operating conditions. Results will determine what conditions are best suited to the use of these types of blades.

6. Friction Road Condition Report Testing Friction road condition report testing is an attempt to gain an understanding of road surface friction during winter storms. A friction-measuring device will collect road surface friction data throughout the winter and during isolated storm events. The Ministry is interested in road surface friction information because it is both objective and quantifiable. It has the potential to make road condition reports more accurate by allowing reports to be provided on shorter road segments. The information will also be used to monitor and report bare pavement conditions. In the future, friction road conditions may be used to automatically classify road conditions, in a similar way to the currently used visual road reports.

7. Salt Spread Pattern Testing Traditionally, granular salt is spread in a 30 cm narrow strip at the crown or super-elevation of snow-covered pavement on Ontario highways. Recent improvements in both weather forecasting and pre-wet salt use may allow spreading to begin before snow has accumulated, without the salt being significantly scattered off the pavement. In these cases, it may be more effective to spread salt in a wide pattern, across the lanes. MTO is comparing narrow and wide spreading patterns to determine the effectiveness under different weather conditions, traffic patterns, and road configurations.

These evaluations demonstrate MTO's commitment to improving service and reducing costs in managing Ontario's highways. Look for testing results in future issues of Road Talk.