This is Winter Weather Preparedness Week in Colorado

October 25, 2011 - ICE & SNOW, TAKE IT SLOW! Southwestern Colorado/CDOT Region 5 - Motorists encouraged to prepare vehicles for winter driving, check highway & weather conditions before holiday travel.

ROAD CONDITION/CLOSURE INFORMATION: To find the conditions and closures, log onto our traveler information site at www.cotrip.org or call 511 from anywhere in the state. Better yet, sign up to receive wireless text alerts and/or e-mails about road conditions on our web site (see the green phone icon in the upper right-hand corner).

SOUTH-CENTRAL COLORADO – Governor John Hickenlooper has proclaimed the week of October 23 through October 29 as Winter Weather Preparedness Week in Colorado. Today, as the Colorado Department of Transportation readies its crews and equipment for a winter storm, the agency reminds motorists to do the same. It is critical that travelers know the impending conditions before setting out and prepare their vehicles for winter weather travel—for their own safety, as well as the safety of others on the road.

Motorists are encouraged to know the conditions—access CDOT’s traveler information site (or information line) for winter conditions, road alerts and safety tips. Motorists should also visit the National Weather Service site or other resource to learn more about current and changing conditions, particularly in Colorado’s high country (see links, below).

In preparation for a storm, some crews throughout CDOT’s Alamosa Maintenance Section (which includes four maintenance areas in south-central Colorado, detailed below) will use the Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) to help them do their jobs. The MDSS combines advanced weather prediction, advanced road condition prediction and rules of practice for anti-icing and de-icing to generate road treatment recommendations on a route-by-route basis. The goal of MDSS is to provide more effective use of maintenance resources in order to increase safety, reliability and mobility on roadways.

The MDSS system allows crews to input real-time conditions, including road and ambient temperature, type of snow removal products being used and the application rate. After comparing the information to 15 weather reports, the system will then provide suggested treatments based on the information and models. The system may tell the operator to re-treat the road at a later time, apply different products at different rates or even to continue current procedures. The suggested treatment can then be followed or the operator can override the system.

“We have had good success with the MDSS trucks these past few seasons, particularly with the changing conditions we get in the San Luis Valley,” said Rich Marquez, CDOT Deputy Maintenance Superintendent in Alamosa. “We now have 9 vehicles equipped with the MDSS.”

In addition to the MDSS, CDOT crews will use a variety of products to clear the roads of snow and ice including alternative liquid de-icers, Ice Slicer (a solid salt product), a solid de-icer and sand and salt. The two types of liquid de-icers used are magnesium chloride, effective at pavement temperatures above 16 degrees, and cold temperature-modified magnesium chloride, used when pavement temperatures fall below 16 degrees. The type of storm and location of the storm will dictate the snow removal product used. Trucks are equipped with infrared sensors to monitor ambient and pavement temperatures throughout a storm. (**Please see below for additional product details.)

The following information details the 2010-2011 winter maintenance efforts throughout the Alamosa Section, which operates out of three main maintenance areas and numerous patrols.

ALAMOSA MAINTENANCE SECTION:

Maintenance Operations for the past 2010-2011 Winter Season
(**Please see Snow Removal Products, below)

Region 5, Section 7, ALAMOSA MAINTENANCE DATA FOR WINTER 2010-2011

The entire Alamosa Maintenance Section includes Alamosa, Archuleta, Chaffee, Conejos, Costilla, Fremont, Gunnison, Park, Rio Grande, Saguache, Huerfano, and east Mineral counties. The Alamosa maintenance area has some 97 maintenance workers and about 117 pieces of snow removal and avalanche equipment (including 64 snowplows, 9 of which are equipped with MDSS). Nine trucks are equipped with liquid deicer applicator tanks. Other plow trucks will carry sand/salt and ice slicer (a solid salt product) for providing traction and de-icing. Alamosa maintenance crews take care of 1,727 lane-miles (the combined lengths of each lane on every highway in the region), including eight mountain passes. During last winter, Alamosa maintenance crews plowed 317,836 total lane-miles. As well, crews sprayed 56,660 gallons of liquid deicer; spread 12,364 tons of sand/salt; spent 808.5 hours on avalanche control missions. Total dollars spent:  $2,428,204.

North Area

The North Maintenance Area includes patrols in:  Poncha Springs, Maysville, Sargents, Hartsel, Fairplay and Johnson Village (work includes US 285 Poncha Pass, US 24 Trout Creek Pass and US 50 Monarch Pass). The Area has 41 maintenance workers including temporary employees and 47 pieces of snow and avalanche removal equipment (including 26 snowplows, 7 of which are equipped with MDSS). There are two trucks equipped with liquid deicer applicator tanks and 5 combo units (that also carry sand/salt). Other plow trucks will carry sand/salt and ice slicer alone for providing traction. North area maintenance crews take care of 569 lane-miles including three mountain passes. During last winter, north area maintenance crews plowed 139,811 total lane miles. As well, crews sprayed 54,830 gallons of liquid deicer, spread 7,344.5 tons of sand/salt and slicer, and spent 244.5 hours on avalanche control missions. Total dollars spent: $1,066,004.

West Area

The West Maintenance Area has patrols in:  Monte Vista, South Fork, Saguache, Pagosa Springs, and Creede (work includes US 160 Wolf Creek Pass and SH 114 Cochatopa/North Pass). The Area has 36 maintenance workers including temporary employees and 36 pieces of snow and avalanche removal equipment (including 19 snowplows, 0 of which are equipped with MDSS). Three trucks are equipped with liquid deicer applicator tanks.  Other plow trucks will carry sand/salt and ice slicer (a solid salt product) for providing traction. West area maintenance crews take care of 550 lane-miles including two mountain passes. During last winter, West Area maintenance crews plowed more than 97,626. As well, crews sprayed 450 gallons of liquid deicer; spread 2,700 tons of sand/salt and ice slicer; and spent 306.5 hours on avalanche control missions. Total dollars spent: $795,510.

East Area

The East Maintenance Area includes patrols in:  Fort Garland, US 160 La Veta Pass, Alamosa, Antonito, and SH 17 La Manga Pass (work also includes SH 17 Cumbres Pass). The Area has 30 maintenance workers including temporary employees and 32 pieces of snow and avalanche removal equipment (including 19 snowplows, 2 of which are equipped with MDSS). Five trucks are equipped with liquid deicer applicator tanks. Other plow trucks will carry sand/salt and ice slicer for providing traction. East area maintenance crews take care of 608 lane-miles including three mountain passes. During last winter, East area maintenance crews plowed 60,025.  As well, crews sprayed 1,380 gallons of liquid deicer, spread 2,319.5 tons of sand/salt, and spent 114 hours on avalanche control missions. Total dollars spent: $553,287.

Safe winter driving is facilitated by CDOT’s maintenance program, as well as its communications to the traveling public regarding road conditions and closures. Safe winter driving is also in the hands of prepared motorists. CDOT has these recommendations for safer travel this season:

WINTER TRAVEL TIPS:

  1. Plan your trip! Log on to CDOT’s Winter Driving web page at: http://www.coloradodot.info/travel/winter-driving for tips, road conditions, information on CDOT’s 14-hour snow plow coverage and more; or call 511 for statewide road conditions. Also, sign up for FREE wireless text and/or e-mail updates on road conditions/closures—see the green phone icon in the upper right-hand corner of our web site home page. Motorists can also log onto the National Weather Service’s site at http://weather.gov/.
  2. Always keep the top half of your gas tank full. It can give you better traction and gives you a bigger margin of error if you get stuck and have to keep the engine running periodically to keep warm.
  3. If you are stuck in a serious storm do not leave your car. Run the engine periodically and wait for help.
  4. Carry blankets, water, a flashlight, a shovel, some nutrition bars or other food for sustenance. Winterize your vehicle's safety kit by including extra blankets, sand to help gain traction in the event you become stuck on ice or snow, jumper cables, an ice scraper and lock de-icer.
  5. Remember that 4-wheel drive does not mean 4-wheel stop. A 4-wheel drive vehicle will not stop any better in icy conditions, especially if you have inadequate snow tires.
  6. Be sure of your route. Don't go exploring in the back-country without some local knowledge, especially during a storm or when one is bearing down anywhere near your location.
  7. Be sure you have good tires. The Colorado State Patrol recommends at least 1/8 of an inch tread depth. All season radials on a front-wheel-drive passenger vehicle are adequate for most situations; install them on all four tires. Four snow tires on most rear-wheel drive vehicles are usually adequate. Chain restrictions in Colorado are most often put into effect for commercial vehicles (semi-trailer trucks) and do not usually affect passenger vehicles (please see information on Colorado’s chain law at http://www.coloradodot.info/travel/commercial-vehicles/colorado-chain-law.url).
  8. In poor visibility or even whiteout conditions, don't drive faster than you can see ahead. High speeds in poor or no visibility can lead to large chain reaction accidents. Remember you can't see around mountain curves and corners, either.
  9. In addition to these winter driving tips, CDOT reminds all motorists to respect winter weather, conduct a pre-trip inspection of your vehicle, leave extra space between your automobile and others on the road, and never drink and drive.
  10. Always buckle up!

**Snow Removal Products:

Magnesium Chloride: In solutions that utilize up to 30 percent magnesium chloride, this product is effective for pavement surface temperatures down to 16 degrees Fahrenheit .

Cold Temperature Modified Magnesium Chloride: In solutions up to 27 percent magnesium chloride, this product is used when surface temperatures fall below approximately 15 degrees Fahrenheit. These products have a corn-processed byproduct additive that greatly lowers the freezing point of magnesium chloride.

Ice Slicer: This is a solid product made up of mainly sodium chloride; it also contains small amounts of other materials making it more effective at lower temperatures than pure sodium chloride.