A new six-part video series, “Hot Shots for Cold Climates” explores treating Minnesota’s iciest roadways, with safety and environmental impact in mind.
Continue reading Evaluating “Hot Shots”: Winter Roads Treatment of Hardest Icy SpotsCategory Archives: Maintenance Operations
Improving Winter Maintenance: Pilot Testing New Snowplow Technologies
![[Infographic] Testing Snowplow Technologies: Slurry Spreader (target direction of salt, reduce salt use, reduce corrosion on trucks), Two-Way Reversible Plow (located on side of plow, providing more mobility in plowing and directing snow), Underbody Scraper (located under plow, clears compacted snow and ice from roads), True-Float Wind (mounted on front or side of plow, providing more mobility in plowing and directing snow)](https://mntransportationresearch.files.wordpress.com/2020/12/snowplowinfographic.jpg)
Every winter, MnDOT ensures Minnesotans can travel safely by plowing more than 30,000 lane miles with approximately 800 snowplows.
In a new research implementation project jointly funded by the Office of Research & Innovation and Office of Maintenance, MnDOT is pilot testing five new pieces of snowplow equipment: two slurry spreaders (one from Henke, one from Swenson), a two-way reversible plow, an underbody scraper and a true-float wing (all from Henke).
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New Project: Have Minnesota’s Warmer Winters Increased the Number of Freeze Thaw Cycles?
Minnesota is experiencing warmer winters and an increase in freeze-thaw events may negatively impact pavement systems. However, the impacts of these recent climate changes on freeze-thaw cycles have not been well studied.
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Green Stormwater Infrastructure: Tradeoffs and Maintenance
This article was originally published in Catalyst, August 2020.
Using “green” infrastructure is a useful strategy for handling city stormwater, which may contain deicers and other contaminants from streets and sidewalks. Choosing the right method and ensuring it doesn’t cause unforeseen damage, however, is another matter.
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New Project: Economic Benefits of Truck Weight and Safety Enforcement Improvements
Overweight and oversize vehicles can accelerate pavement damage, increasing the cost of maintenance and rehabilitation of road infrastructure networks.
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New Project: The Impact of Deferred Maintenance in Minnesota
Expenditures for maintenance are not keeping pace with the needs of the local transportation system. When local governments face fiscal stress, planned maintenance gets postponed to make funding available for other purposes. As deferred maintenance grows, the work and investments needed to bring an asset into a good condition grow too.
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Pavement Preservation Techniques for Local Agencies
Cities and counties need affordable pavement preservation treatments, but preservation strategies are often geared towards higher-volume roads. The Minnesota Local Road Research Board has developed new guidance on five lower-cost treatments that is more applicable to local agencies and can be used to preserve pavements based on the type and severity of pavement distress.
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Promoting Snow Fence Adoption in Minnesota
A new research study has shown that few landowners know about MnDOT’s snow fence program, its benefits to community safety and mobility, and incentives to install snow fences. Following community meetings and surveys in four regions of Minnesota, researchers identified promising promotional methods for the snow fence program, the constraints landowners face in adopting snow fences, and incentives and assistance to improve snow fence adoption. Project results will guide MnDOT’s efforts to expand the use of snow fences around the state
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Guide for Converting Distressed Low-Volume Paved Roads to Unpaved Roads
Working with an advisory panel of road managers from local agencies, researchers have developed a practitioner-ready guide for converting severely distressed low-volume paved roads to improved, easily maintained gravel roads. The guide includes decision-making tools and an online webinar for training.
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Detecting Corrosion Early Extends Service Life of Bridge Paint Coating
An evaluation of five maintenance paint coating systems on Minnesota steel bridges with localized corrosion found that each maintenance coating performed well, and, if corrosion is identified early and maintenance painting occurs, the service life of the paint coating system can be extended five years before repainting is required. Based on the test data, researchers recommended an update to MnDOT’s Bridge Maintenance Painting Manual that includes guidance on when to apply maintenance paint coatings and when to remove paint and recoat bridges.
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