Talkin Winter Ops

Every 4 years the Transportation Research Board sponsors an International Road Weather and Winter Maintenance Conference where winter maintenance professionals gather to learn about emerging technologies, new strategies, the latest technology, and current research for responding to severe weather events and winter maintenance.  After a pause due to the pandemic this conference is happening once again.  In Washington DC, May 9-10, 2023, you can be part of this gathering and exchange of information.  

Learn more about this event from TRB Road Weather Committee Chair Paul Pisano and TRB Winter Maintenance Committee Chair Anna Arvidsson in this episode or by following this link to the conference website at https://trb.secure-platform.com/a/page/wintermaintenance

Special early registration and lodging opportunities expire on April 25th so mark your calendars. 

0:00 Intro
00:54 History of the Conference
03:55 Planning for the 2023 event
07:30 What to expect when you get there
12:00 Why should I attend?
15:03 Who attends?
17:20 Conference details
20:45 Last minute thoughts
23:46 Sign off

Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.com

Thanks for listening in and stay safe out there!

For over 40 years we have sought after a measure of friction during winter events to determine if additional treatments were required.  Over the decades the science, sensors, and computing power have advanced to the point that friction or grip is making its way into winter operations.  

On this episode we explore some cutting edge work in world of winter road friction.  Lead Statewide Snow & Ice Engineer for the MassDOT Mark Goldstein and from the Research Applications Lab at the National Center for Atmospheric Research,  Senior Software Engineer Gerry Wiener and Software Engineer Seth Linden discuss projects they are involved with and the finer points associated with using friction/grip in winter maintenance.

Follow this link for more information on the Aurora Road Friction Project https://aurora-program.org/research/completed/roadway-friction-modeling-improving-the-use-of-friction-measurements-in-state-dots/ 

You can reach out to our guests directly for more information on their work with wintertime friction and grip by emailing them directly through the links above.

Chapter marks:
0:00 Intro
1:54 when did you start thinking about friction and wintertime operations
4:03 how does friction play onto the highway environment
7:23 what are some of the grip measuring devices out there
12:31 how do friction sensors work, what are they measuring
17:05 The Aurora Roadway Friction Modeling study discussion
25:41 MassDOT friction project
38:04 What’s the future of friction/grip look like
44:04 Last minute thoughts - autonomous vehicles
46:4 2 sign off  

Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.com

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Just because a winter storm is over and mobility restored doesn’t necessarily mean that your done with the impacts of weather.  Moisture and water leftover from winter combined with freezing temperatures and loads can cause problems for your pavements and roadside long after the storm is over.

Greg Duncan has many years of experience with the Tennessee DOT and now with Applied Pavement Technologies shares his experiences in dealing with the leftovers from winter weather.  

For more information on potholes and the pothole cycle that Greg mentioned in this episode follow this link to the Tennessee DOT website page on potholes https://www.tn.gov/tdot/maintenance/potholes.html 

For more information about pavements and the effects of winter weather you can contact Greg directly by email at [email protected]

0:00  Intro
1:30  Things that cause problems for pavements
6:10  Keeping the water out
8:33  Pothole cycle
10:36 Pothole patching
12:08 Winter strategies for dealing with potholes in the winter
16:37 Pavements and deicing chemicals
20:35 Abrasion and physical deterioration 
27:38 Roadside issues
30:42 Budget implications  
35:25 Teachable moments that happen in real time 

Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.com

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NCHRP Project Report 889 details Performance Measures in Snow and Ice Control Operations.  Caleb Dobbins, SICOP Chair from New Hampshire DOT, is working to move the material presented in this report from research to reality through an NCHRP 20-44 project conducting a series of implementation seminars to help states with their implementation goals.

Caleb explains snow and ice control performance measurers and how this project is helping with implementation of this important guide.

For more information you can download the Guide at https://www.trb.org/Publications/Blurbs/160864.aspx

or email Caleb Dobbins at [email protected] 

00:00  Intro
01:27 NCHRP report on winter performance measures (PM)
02:50 PM implementation project
06:15 Implementation workshops
09:28 How to use PMs
13:10 Role of Winter Severity Indices
17:00 Regional implementation seminars
20:10 Value of winter PMs

Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.com

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Knowledge transfer plays a critical role in advancing the state of the practice and conferences and expositions play an important role in knowledge transfer.  The Purdue Road School Conference and Expo have been playing a role in knowledge transfer since 1913.  Listen in as Jeremy McGuffey, Indiana DOT, tells us about the Road School and how you might become involved.

Find more information about the Purdue Road School at this link https://engineering.purdue.edu/JTRP/Road_School 

or email Jeremy directly at [email protected]

Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.com

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Everyday folks out there are coming up with better ways to do business.  It might be a mechanic coming up with fix to solve a problem for an operator  - to a research project that could fundamentally change the way we do snow and ice control.  The thing is, if you can’t move this new idea from a one off - or a great research concept to reality you stay stuck in the status quo.

On this episode we are going to discus implementation and how some have overcome the challenges new ideas face on the road to implementation.

Craig Bargfrede, Winter Operations Administrator for the Iowa DOT and Jeremy McGuffey Statewide Winter Operations Manager for the Indiana DOT will be discussing their experiences moving ideas to the field. 

For more information you can contact Craig at [email protected]
or Jeremy at [email protected] 

Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.com

Thanks for listening in and stay safe out there!

On this episode we are going to introduce you to three programs designed to introduce K-12 students to a variety of science and engineering concepts used by DOTs and highway maintenance.  AASHTO’s TRAC™ (Transportation and Civil Engineering) & RIDES (Roadways in Developing Elementary Students) outreach programs are designed for educators to use as part of their Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) classes and Front Range Community College's Senior Seminar in Public Works and Highway Maintenance offers high school seniors the opportunity to learn about highway maintenance in the class room and on the job through internships .  

Julia Smith, AASHTO’s TRAC™ & RIDES Program Manager, discusses some of the modules that are part of the program and how educators can incorporate them into their curriculum. In addition to the most popular bridge building module there are modules on how salt depresses the freezing point of water, pavement friction, and environmental impacts facing DOT’s among many others.  These hands on activities are designed to to introduce students to the world of transportation and civil engineering giving them a new perspective on how the world around them works and may inspire them to  consider a career in these fields.

Sue Baillargeon, Director of the Highway Maintenance Program at Front Range Community College, has introduced a Senior Seminar in Public Works and Road Maintenance to the Highway Maintenance Management Degree offering.  Designed for high school seniors, this program introduces them to world of highway maintenance through class room and independent study along with on the job training through an internship at a maintenance garage.

For more information on TRAC™ & RIDES follow this link: https://tracrides.transportation.org  or contact Julia Smith at [email protected] 

For more information on the Senior Seminar in Public Works and Road Maintenance program and the Highway Maintenance Management Degree follow this link: https://www.frontrange.edu/programs-and-courses/a-z-program-list/highway-maintenance-management or contact Sue Baillargeon at [email protected]

1:50 TRAC & RIDE description
2:50 How does TRAC & RIDE work
5:25 Some RIDES activities
7:38 The educators perspective of the program
10:31 Some TRAC activities
13:15 Introduction to the Senior Seminar Program
17:11 Program details
19:32 Internships
21:56 Students can participate from anywhere in the US
25:10 how to get more information on these programs
28:22 How these programs change student perspectives

Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.com

Thanks for listening in and stay safe out there!

Maintenance operations adapted quickly in lots of ways we never thought we could due to the pandemic.  On this episode we’re visiting with Joe Bucci, State Highway Maintenance Operations Engineer for the Rhode Island DOT to learn about some tools they use to help keep the paperwork flowing while the snow plows are rolling.  The application they utilize to manage and coordinate over 400 vendors during winter operations has revolutionized the administration of those resources. 

For more information about the Rhode Island DOTs winter maintenance program you can reach out directly to Joe Bucci at [email protected] 

1:27   Introduction to the Rhode Island DOT winter maintenance program
4:06   Tracking and coordinating with vendors
6:35    Reverse auction for winter maintenance materials
9:13    Admin to manage contractors and materials
14:00 Implementing the new system
20:21 Using the application for state forces
22:10 Communication the the vendors during winter operations
25:00 Enhancements
26:47 COVID changes to the way we do business
30:11 What's next for the winter maintenance program
32:55 Retirement?!

The contents of SICOP Talks Winter Ops are intended for general information purposes as a public service.  Reference to any specific product or entity you might hear about on this podcast does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by SICOP or AASHTO.

Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.com

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Usually, when you mention winter maintenance and road weather the mind conjures up images of those northern states where winter comes in October and hangs around till April.  but there are plenty of states across the south that have their hands full with all kinds of road weather challanges.  On this episode we’re visiting with Kevin Duby, Arizona DOT’s Statewide Road Weather Manager about his state, Arizona, where the weather challenges are as diverse as the landscape.

1:04   Weather diversity of Arizona
2:20   Weather challenges
5:58   Equipment used in weather responses
7:28   Staff utilization and training
12:40 Dashboards & data for decision making
17:15 Southern state challenges
21:57 Extra technology - weather radar
25:40 Monsoon season
30:36 Social media
33:00 What’s in the future

You can visit the Arizona DOT at https://azdot.gov and for more information on Arizona DOT’s weather response programs contact Kevin Duby [email protected] 

Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.com

Thanks for listening in and stay safe out there!

Listen in as SICOP Talks Winter Ops with Randi Feltner, Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Road Weather Program Manager about crowd sourcing in Kentucky.

In 2014 the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet began a program of crowd sourcing data from motorists from a variety of sources to aid in their delivery of mobility across their network especially during sever weather events.  Providing extra sets of eyes on the condition of the network gives the KYTC enhanced situational awareness and a leg up in response.  

For more information on crowdsourcing in Kentucky you can contact Randi by email at mailto: [email protected]

and check out the travel resources provided by the KYTC at this link https://transportation.ky.gov/sites/snowky  

More information on Crowd Sourcing can be found on the National Operations Center of Excellence website https://transportationops.org/edc5

NCHRP Research Report 889: Performance Measures in Snow and Ice Control Operations https://www.trb.org/Main/Blurbs/178901.aspx

Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.com

Thanks for listening in and stay safe out there!