Write Up:

Knowing the time it takes to clear roads after a winter storm can help the department better analyze the costs associated with that work. MoDOT’s response rate to winter events provides good customer service for the traveling public while keeping costs as low as possible. These efforts result in reduced traffic delays due to winter events and, more importantly, safer travel during these events.  In recent years, MoDOT has been more aggressive in messaging the public urging them to travel only if necessary during winter events. This messaging is in the form of social media pushes and media releases. In addition, one of MoDOT’s Strategic Initiatives is working toward predictive analytics to optimize winter operations resources. 

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               

The 2019-2020 winter season had its first significant impact on Veterans Day, Nov. 11, 2019.  The winter precipitation and rapidly decreasing temperatures went from the west side of the state in the morning to the east side of the state in the afternoon drastically impacting the St. Louis District's evening rush hour.  MoDOT's trucks were treating roads all day. The November 11th event had warm enough ground temperatures to melt the initial snowfall, however most of the salt that was applied early in the day washed off. Although the weather forecasts said it would end midday, an additional wave of snow came around 2 p.m. With the winds brought a significant drop in temperature, all routes across St. Louis started freezing at the same time which coincided with the start of evening rush hour. In addition, there were a couple of significant incidents on the highways that resulted in MoDOT plow trucks being stuck in traffic, limiting MoDOT's ability to continue treating roads. The cost incurred on the major roads throughout Missouri was measured from a vehicle delay perspective. The major routes statewide during this winter storm were measured using cellphone data. The measurement was motorist delay costs which were over $3 million. After action meetings and reports identified challenges and opportunities for improvement to assure best possible responses moving forward. This event and another challenging event on Dec. 15, 2019 resulted in an average time to meet MoDOT’s objective for continuous operations routes of 5.5 hours and 6.3 hours for non-continuous routes through March 31, 2020. These response times are higher than previous years which is due in large part to the impacts of the Veterans Day storm and another exceptionally challenging winter in the northwest portion of the state.

On average, winter operations cost about $43 million per year. MoDOT expended $54.4 million so far this season. This is higher than Missouri’s average winter over the last five years, due to the various challenges faced this season.

Purpose of the Measure:

This measure tracks the amount of time needed to perform MoDOT’s snow and ice removal efforts.  It also reviews the impacts of significant events and the measures taken to minimize these impacts.

Measurement and Data Collection:

For major highways and regionally significant routes, the objective is to restore them to a mostly clear condition as soon as possible after the storm has ended. MoDOT calls these “continuous operations” routes. State routes with lower traffic volumes should be opened to two-way traffic and treated with salt or abrasives at critical areas such as intersections, hills and curves. These are called “non-continuous operations” routes. After each winter event, maintenance personnel submit reports indicating how much time it took to meet the objectives for both route classifications.  For significant events, the Regional Integrated Transportation Information System is used to determine traveler delays and the associated costs in order to determine the magnitude of the impacts of these significant winter events.