Whitepapers and Reports

National Strategic Winter Maintenance Plan for 2017 through 2020

This is the National Strategic Winter Maintenance Plan for 2017 through 2020. It describes program goals and strategic initiatives. It is prepared by the SICOP pooled fund program

APWA Brine Fact Sheet Spring 2016

This is the Brine Fact Sheet prepared by the APWA Winter Maintenance Sub-Committee and published in Spring 2016 by APWA.

Clear Roads Manual of Best Management Practices for Road Salt in Winter Maintenance 2016

This is the Manual of Best Management Practices for Road Salt in Winter Maintenance, prepared under contract for the Clear Roads pooled fund program and published in 2016.

Code of Practice for the Environmental Management of Road Salt Data Compilation 2013-2017

This is a compilation of the road salt use data collected by the Department of Environment and Climate Change in Canada, for the winters of 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16, and 2016-17.

Guide for Management of Salt Vulnerable Areas 2018

This is a guide prepared for Environment and Climate Change Canada, that provides guidance to agencies on identifying salt vulnerable areas. It also includes methods for mitigating salt impacts on such areas.

Alaska DOTPF Anti-Icing Fact Sheet 2013

This is a fact sheet prepared and published by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities explaining how salt brine works on roads and why they are making use of it under certain winter storm conditions.

AHUA Tri-Fold on Winter Maintenance and Road Safety 2014

This is a tri-fold document published by the American Highway Users Alliance summarizing the research results on how good winter maintenance practices significantly enhance safety and mobility during and after winter storms.

Council of State Governments Report on Winter Maintenance Costs 2014

This is a document detailing winter maintenance costs for various states for the 2013-14 winter, and discussing methods used by states to attempt to control these costs. It provides good data on such costs during a severe winter.

HIS Global Insight Study on Economic Costs of Disruption from a Snowstorm 2010

This document is a study conducted by HIS Global Insight for the American Highway Users Alliance, that details the economic costs arising from a shut down of the transportation system that can occur due to a severe winter storm. The costs for a statewide shutdown range from $300 to $700 million per day.

The Safety Impacts of Using Deicing Salt, University of Waterloo, 2012

This is the final report of a study conducted by the University of Waterloo examining the safety benefits of using salt as a winter maintenance tool. Findings indicate reductions in crashes of up to 85% when road salt is used, and in general confirmed the findings of the Marquette study conducted 20 years earlier.

Shingle Creek Chloride TMDL Five-Tear Review 2014

This is the five-year review of the Shingle Creek watershed, which was determined to be impaired due to high chloride levels and placed under a chloride TMDL plan. The report details the actions taken and the results of those actions, as well as the plans for the next five year period.

Accident Analysis of Ice Control Operations 1992

This report analyzes the safety benefits of salt-based winter maintenance actions. The primary finding is that such winter maintenance actions reduces crashes by between 85 to 88%. Additionally, the report found that the costs of winter maintenance were repaid within the first 25 minutes after treatment.

1974-75 Prewetted Salt Report

This is a very old and oft quoted report of the studies conducted by Michigan DOT in the 1970s looking at the benefits of pre-wetting rock salt on the truck prior to application on the road. The findings indicated that pre-wetting allowed the application rate to be reduced by 25-30% and still retain the same quantity of pre-wet salt on the roadway as would remain if applied at the higher rate in a dry salt condition. The quality of the document is not good, but the quality of the content is.

State of Michigan Department of the Attorney General Road Salt 2014-15 Winter Season Pricing Report

During the severe winter of 2013-14 there were some salt shortages in the Midwest, and as a result a number of agencies found themselves paying much higher prices for road salt in 2014 than had been typical. Increases of 46% on previous year costs were found in some cases. The Michigan Attorney General had received a number of complaints about the higher prices and chose to investigate them to see if there had been either price fixing or price gouging going on. The AG found that neither price fixing nor price gouging had been going on, but rather the change in prices resulted from supply and demand.

NCHRP Report 526: Snow and Ice Control: Guidelines for Materials and Methods 2004

This report details the finding of NCHRP Project 6-13. It provides guidelines on a wide variety of winter maintenance issues such as levels of service, materials selection, application rates, and operational strategies and tactics.

Anti-Icing Decision Chart for Salt Brine 2017

This is a graphic chart designed to take the user through the decisions needed to make sound decisions about anti-icing. The chart is for use with salt brine only – for other liquids a slightly different approach would be needed. The chart was developed by the APWA Winter Maintenance Sub-committee.

Road Salt: A Primer on the Factors Affecting Supply and Demand AHUA 2018

This primer provides good foundational information about the procurement, pricing, and supply of road salt. It was developed by the American Highway Users Alliance, and was updated in 2018.

Assessing the Efficacy of Current Salt Management Programs, University of Waterloo, 2010

This report examines whether the adoption of the Transportation Association of Canada Best Management Practices to reduce chloride transfer to the environment had been successful in reducing the chlorides or had resulted in a reduction of safety. They found that reductions in chloride levels of up to 50% had been achieved without negative impacts on road safety.

Madison and Dane County Public Health Road Salt Report 2015

This is a report from the Public Health department of Madison and Dane County in Wisconsin, examining road salt use and chloride contamination levels in the area. The findings indicate that good practice can result in reductions in road salt application, which can in turn result in reducing chloride levels, although the results must be considered preliminary in nature.

Optimal Snow and Ice Control of Parking Lots and Sidewalks, University of Waterloo, 2015

This reports presents recommended application rates of salt on parking lots and sidewalks for sustainable practice in this important area of winter maintenance. It includes easy-to-use charts providing application rates as a function of pavement temperature and desired level of service.

Safe and Sustainable Salt Storage 2015

This is the final version of the Salt Institute’s venerable Salt Storage Handbook and contains invaluable information about the design, sizing, operation, and maintenance of road salt storage facilities.

Impacts of Using Salt and Salt Brine for Roadway Deicing 2014

The Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) commissioned this study, which was a combination of a literature review and a survey of state practices, to examine the potential negative impacts of road salt usage on wildlife-vehicle collisions, the groundwater and streamwater environment, and the corrosion of vehicles. The report presents the findings of the survey and review.

Safe and Sustainable Snowfighting 2016

This is the final version of the Salt Institute’s venerable Snowfighter’s Handbook and contains invaluable information about winter maintenance operations, calibration techniques, application rates, and critical decision processes involved in winter maintenance.

Maine Winter Roads: Salt, Safety, Environment and Cost 2010

This report, conducted for Maine DOT by the University of Maine, examines the balance between road safety during winter time, environmental impacts of using road salts to treat roads in winter, and the costs associated with the treatment and non-treatment of roads in winter.