No More Snow Drifts on Upstate Road
New snow fence designs cut winter maintenance costs, improve motorist safety, and please citizens.
The Challenge
The Wyoming County Highway Department has a serious problem with snow drifts. The county gets about 3,000 mm (120 in) of snow a year, and because it is the first high ground southeast of Lake Erie and is primarily farmland, strong winds scour the countryside and constantly shift snow on the ground.
When the county plows Curriers Road, an important north-south route, the piles of snow at the side of the road trap blowing snow. The result is huge drifts on the road, sometimes even taller than the county's plows, reports Gary Weidman of the Wyoming County Highway Department.
The county is now gaining the upper hand in its annual battle with drifting snow by using snow fences, a technology evaluated and enhanced under the Strategic Highway Research Project (SHRP). The fences stop blowing snow and cause it to form drifts before the snow reaches Curriers Road.
Putting the Technology to the Test
The Wyoming County Highway Department has been installing snow fences along Curriers Road since 1991. Each year, the agency puts up 150 m (500 ft) of snow fences, and now has 600 m (2,000 ft) of fences in place alongside the road. The agency plans to build another 150 m (500 ft) of fence every year.
The highway department uses relatively light and inexpensive plastic snow fences, mounted in wooden frames. It builds the 2.4-m-tall (8-ft) snow fences in its maintenance yard, spending about $860 on materials for a 150-m (500-ft) section of fence. Installation of a 150-m (500-ft) section takes three crew members about 2 days. The fences have withstood winds of 80 km/h (50 mi/h) without damage and are expected to last 15 to 20 years with minor yearly maintenance.
Wherever the snow fences are in place, the problem of snow drifts on the road has disappeared. The fences are installed about 70 m (240 ft) from the road. Drifts behind each fence can reach about 3 m (12 ft) tall and 60 m (200 ft) long. A smaller drift also forms in front of each snow fence. Very little snow makes it to the road.
The snow fences save the County Highway Department an enormous amount of money. "We spend $4,000 per season per mile of road for snow and ice removal [$2,500 per kilometer]," says Weidman. "That's a significant part of our yearly budget." As more of Curriers Road is protected, plowing the road becomes less expensive. SHRP reported that it costs 3 cents to intercept and divert a ton of snow with a snow fence over the life of the fence, compared to $3 to plow the same amount of snow.
"It will be a complete success story when the entire Curriers Road plow route is covered," Weidman says. This would mean the county wouldn't have to send plows to the road to clear drifts at all, freeing up resources for winter maintenance elsewhere. "It may take 10 years, but 5 years ago nobody would have predicted we'd have 2,000 feet [600 m] of snow fences," says Weidman.
The public response to the snow fences has been overwhelmingly positive. Some residents say the fences also prevent snow drifts around their homes. Farmers who live along Curriers Road are so pleased with the snow fences that they are willing to put up with the inconvenience they cause to farming operations. As a result, the highway department can leave the fences in place all year.
The Benefits
Since installing snow fences along Curriers Road, the Wyoming County Highway Department can report
- Less snow on the road.
- Lower snow removal costs.
- Safer travel on some sections of the road.
And residents are pleased to see fewer drifts and less blowing snow.
