Winter Roads Go Digital

By Linda Duffy, Contributing Author

Later this year, as temperatures drop, and snow begins to fall, winter maintenance departments will face pressure to keep roads safe and accessible while managing tight budgets and public expectations. 

The traditional approach to winter maintenance—reactive repairs and manual tracking—is proving inadequate as aging infrastructure deteriorates.  

However, Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-centric solutions offer transportation agencies new techniques for handling these challenges, shifting from costly stop-gap maintenance to strategic, data-driven operations that support preventative measures and save money while also improving safety and public satisfaction.

Winter maintenance operations face interconnected challenges that compound throughout the season. At the most fundamental level, agencies struggle with basic situational awareness: understanding which roads are passable and safe for public travel. This information gap creates cascading problems throughout the operation.

Communication with the public becomes a critical pain point when departments lack real-time visibility into road conditions and crew locations. Citizens want immediate answers about which routes are cleared, when their neighborhood will be plowed and whether it's safe to go out.

Without accurate, up-to-date information, departments struggle to provide reliable updates through traditional communication channels.

The challenge extends to internal operations, where manual tracking systems create inefficiencies and blind spots. Traditional methods require crews to manually log miles plowed, number of materials applied and areas covered—a time-consuming process that's prone to errors and provides limited real-time visibility. 

Supervisors lack the automated vehicle location (AVL) capabilities needed to optimize routing, track progress and respond quickly to changing conditions or emergency situations.

Perhaps most critically, transportation agencies face the hidden challenge of pre-winter pavement assessment. Unlike routine summer maintenance, winter operations demand proactive identification and repair of pavement defects before harsh weather arrives. Small cracks that seem insignificant in October become major problems when freeze-thaw cycles begin.

Hidden Costs

The consequences of inadequate winter maintenance planning extend far beyond immediate operational challenges. Safety concerns such as rutting, which increases the risk of skidding, top the list as departments have a responsibility to protect public welfare. 

When road conditions are uncertain or crews can't respond efficiently to changing weather, the risk of accidents increases dramatically, potentially exposing municipalities to liability issues. Failure to maintain adequate winter services can have long-lasting impacts on public confidence in municipal government. 

The financial implications of reactive maintenance create a vicious cycle that's difficult to break. Consider the simple progression of a pavement crack: if left untreated before winter, water infiltration during freeze-thaw cycles causes the crack to expand and deepen. By spring, what could have been addressed with a simple crack seal—costing perhaps $2 per linear foot—has become a pothole requiring hot-mix patching at $25–$50 per square foot, or worse, a section requiring full reconstruction at hundreds of dollars per square yard.

Equipment damage adds another area of risk. When snowplows encounter unexpected potholes or pavement failures, the resulting damage to cutting edges, moldboards and hydraulic systems can cost thousands of dollars per incident. These unplanned repairs not only strain maintenance budgets but also reduce fleet availability during critical weather events.

Beyond winter-related considerations for maintaining civil and public assets, contractors, municipalities and departments of transportation face challenges maintaining an entire fleet of paving and construction equipment.

Postponing preventive maintenance until winter's slower months is common, but this approach can result in emergency breakdowns, higher repair costs and unexpected downtime during the summer season. 

As an alternative, modern maintenance software can automate preventive care schedules and send alerts when excavators, dozers or other equipment need attention. Centralized scheduling and streamlined work orders make maintenance more efficient and cost-effective year-round.

Real-Time Intelligence 

The benefits of geospatial data collection extend into daily winter operations through integrated AVL and work order management systems. Modern platforms automatically track vehicle locations, routes covered, materials applied and work completed, replacing manual logging systems with real-time data collection.

Dispatchers can monitor fleet movements on interactive maps and automatically calculate lane miles plowed. This information can be integrated with Road Weather Information Systems (RWIS) to provide real-time information about weather and road conditions. 

This information can help determine when and where to dispatch snowplows and apply de-icing materials. Digital resources also can monitor brine and salt application rates to help manage inventories and drive efficiencies with better decision-making. 

When new priority areas are identified, the system can recommend optimal crew assignments based on current locations and remaining capacity. Digital work orders eliminate paperwork while ensuring accurate cost tracking for labor, materials and equipment usage. 

The external communication benefits are equally significant. Real-time operational data enables departments to provide accurate public updates through websites, mobile apps, and social media platforms. Citizens can access current information about road conditions, crew locations, and estimated service delivery times, reducing call volume while improving satisfaction.

In Michigan, the city of Ann Arbor implemented a digital enterprise asset management system in 2000. The software has helped streamline workflows by automating spreadsheet database entry processes, managing work orders and communicating real-time weather and road conditions to crews. 

Detailed and up-to-date data is available to guide maintenance and operations while also providing vital information to the public through existing customer-facing communications tools.

Predictive Maintenance

Reactive maintenance such as hot-mix patching of potholes provides temporary solutions in harsh climates, often failing within a single season and requiring repeated interventions. The integration of mobile mapping, AI-powered analysis and comprehensive asset management represents a critical shift from reactive to predictive maintenance strategies. 

Transportation agencies can now scan roads, run automated analysis software and know exactly where to send crews for preventive repairs before winter arrives. Preventive maintenance addresses root causes and provides multi-year durability. 

This predictive capability transforms budget planning and resource allocation. Instead of waiting for spring damage assessments, departments can quantify maintenance needs, prioritize interventions and develop accurate cost projections based on current pavement conditions.

Accessible and Actionable Data

Modern winter maintenance solutions prioritize accessibility and integration with existing systems. Web-based platforms with workflows using open data eliminate the need to update and maintain systems with specialized software installations while providing secure access from any device. Mobile applications put critical information at the fingertips of field crews, enabling real-time updates and communication.

Integration with GIS platforms ensures that departments can leverage existing technology investments while expanding analytical capabilities.

The Road Ahead

The convergence of geospatial data collection, AI and integrated asset management creates opportunities for improved winter maintenance efficiency. Departments that adopt these technologies reduce costs through preventive maintenance, improve safety through better planning, enhance public satisfaction through transparent communication and justify budgets and infrastructure investment with actual data.  

As climate patterns become more unpredictable and infrastructure continues to age, the traditional approaches to winter maintenance will be unsustainable. Leveraging technology can ease the transition from reactive service provider to proactive asset manager. Data-driven decision making is needed to keep communities safe and informed throughout the winter months. RB

Linda Duffy is a freelance writer and market researcher at Apropos Research. Contact: [email protected]