News
U.S. transportation agencies are facing unprecedented challenges of tremendous proportions.
On the cusp of a historic infrastructure crisis, the Federal Highway Administration estimates that $170 billion in capital investment is needed on an annual basis to significantly improve the conditions...
Persistent cold combined with numerous precipitation events last winter challenged snow fighters from the Midwest to the East Coast and points south to the Gulf Coast. Winter 2013-14 broke records and demanded flexibility in winter-maintenance tactics.
Public agencies responded with ingenuity,...
These days the Iowa Department of Transportation talks a lot about dashboards, especially when it comes to our maintenance operations. With more than 900 snowplows, that is a lot of actual dashboards—but the ones we talk the most about can be viewed on a desktop, laptop, tablet or other mobile...
In the past two decades or so, anti-icing has been gradually adopted by North American highway agencies as a proactive approach to addressing winter driving safety.
Fixed automated spray technology (FAST) systems are designed as a fixed-asset technology for anti-icing at specific target areas,...
The Great Winter of 2013-14 will be remembered by tens of millions as one of the coldest and snowiest in memory. For months on end extreme weather conditions pummeled the Eastern Seaboard, Midwest and even the Deep South with some of the largest snowfall volumes and lowest temperatures recorded.
...
The Crafco spray injection patcher is designed to patch potholes and other pavement distresses. It cleans the distress, applies a tack coat, applies aggregate coated with hot asphalt emulsion and finally applies a dry topcoat of aggregate—all in one easy, fast and continuous operation. Government...
The Crafco pavement router removes deteriorated asphalt and debris from pavement cracks and creates a new, clean crack sealant reservoir for sealant to adhere to and move with the surrounding pavement, thus achieving more than twice the sealant service life than nonrouted and sealed cracks. There...
The Red River Valley of western Minnesota and eastern North and South Dakota has a flooding problem: It happens all the time.
Instead of rebuilding the land, roads and bridges after every flood, communities and government agencies are trying to find ways to mitigate damage and allow life to...
For David Ward, a 52-year-old management consultant from Orange County, Calif., getting around on local streets near his Tustin home is “a mixed bag.”
Ward, a quadriplegic for the past 25 years, uses a specially equipped van and wheelchair to get to appointments, shopping and visit relatives. In...
Snow and ice operations are a signature function of the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT).
Snow and ice directly impact our customers’ daily routines in the winter months, and it is the department’s most visible operational function done by ODOT forces. Reflecting its importance, ODOT...
Maintenance
News
March 20, 2014
A punishing winter has melted away road-maintenance budgets across the country, and Virginia could be one of the hardest hit.
Snow-removal costs are coming in well over what was originally laid out by the Virginia DOT. Transportation officials say it could cost $200 million more than the $157...
Maintenance
News
February 18, 2014
If you have road salt coming in from overseas, make sure the ship is decked out in American wear.
New Jersey’s supply of the snow-fighting material is running dangerously low, and officials are now trying to free a 40,000-ton shipment of rock salt sitting at a port in Maine. Officials were trying...
Winter maintenance professionals now have an option for accurate, affordable brine making with the AccuBatch brine maker. The system provides accurate, automated salinity concentration; affordable, professional-quality brine; and hassle-free installation, operation and cleanout, helping...
A state-of-the-art system that can produce approximately 5,000 gallons of brine per hour, the AccuBrine automated brine maker provides a fast, easy-to-use, fully automated process with accurate salinity concentrations. The system offers flexible programming options for making custom batches and hot...
SafeLane surface overlay HDX is a vital anti-icing tool that helps prevent ice and frost from forming on roadways and bridges. The patented technology retains deicing chemicals within the surface and releases them as temperatures drop below freezing, helping keep motorists safe from dangerous...
For use on any pedestrian walkway, SafeLane surface overlay CA-48 helps prevent slippery conditions. A patented epoxy-aggregate pavement overlay, this product is the only solution on the market to provide anti-icing and increased year-round traction. It retains deicing chemicals, helping prevent...
BrineXtreme is Henderson’s line of professional salt brine systems. The process of producing brine begins with a brine-making tank—available in stainless steel or fiberglass—that is capable of holding up to 5 cu. yd of salt; the stainless steel brine tank is expandable to 8 cu. yd and is 100% self-...
Maintenance
Article
June 12, 2013
When it comes to snowplowing operations, most public-works agencies historically have applied an ad-hoc approach, defined by geography and relying on individual drivers to navigate through a route based on the driver’s perception of efficiency.
In 2012, the city of Centennial, Colo., and CH2M Hill...
Maintenance
News
May 31, 2013
It was a prickly situation. The weeds had to be removed, but using herbicides too near a water supply can be a dicey proposition due to federal regulations. Mowing weeds reduces them vertically, but they are still there, lying horizontally on the ground until collected.
And perhaps most important...
Maintenance
Article
March 06, 2013
Road weather sensors are widely used in road weather information system (RWIS) applications and, to a lesser extent, as components of recent weather-responsive advanced transportation systems.
Sensors that focus on the condition of the roadway pavement are generally of two types: in-pavement and...