Best Practices for Road Weather Management Version 2.0
Title:
Synthesis of Information on Anti-icing and Pre-wetting for Winter Highway Maintenance Practices in North America
Abstract:
As improved maintenance strategies, anti-icing and pre-wetting are seeing increased implementation in North America. One of the greatest challenges of implementing these practices has been the misunderstanding of the benefits and outcomes of their use. Members of the general public and organized groups such as trucking associations have been critical of these strategies, which may be a result of insufficient information, limited understanding and speculation. Therefore, research is needed to synthesize the information on these strategies in an objective manner. Through this project, the authors synthesized information obtained from a literature review and agency surveys on the advantages and disadvantages of anti-icing and pre-wetting for winter highway maintenance. Concerns discussed include: driver safety, human health, environmental stewardship, corrosion, costs, etc. The research indicates that compared with traditional methods for snow and ice control, anti-icing and pre-wetting lead to decreased applications of chemical products, reduced use of abrasives, decreased maintenance costs, improved roadway friction, and lower accident rates. Anti-icing has been recognized as a pro-active approach to winter driver safety. Pre-wetting has shown to increase the performance of solid chemicals or abrasives and their longevity on the roadway surface, thereby reducing the amount of materials required.
Source(s):
Pacific Northwest Snowfighters Association in collaboration with the Washington State DOT, Prepared by Western Transportation Institute
Date: 2005
Author:
O'Keefe, Shi
Keywords:
Anti-icing/Deicing chemicals
Winter maintenance
Safety
Environment
Benefits
Costs
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