Snow Removal Performance Metrics: Past, Present, and Future

Abstract

Snow and ice maintenance operations are among the most critical functions of state transportation agencies and municipalities in cold regions. The use of snow removal performance metrics is of increasing interest to transportation practitioners and academics. For this paper, a comprehensive literature review and a survey were conducted to gather information on the performance metrics used in winter highway maintenance activities by different transportation agencies. Performance goals for snow and ice control were identified in the survey, with average rankings as follows (in descending order): safety, mobility, economy, essential functions, environment, infrastructure, and livability. The survey results were also tabulated and analyzed to identify best practices and future trends in the agencies. Restoring safety and mobility consistently remains a priority of nearly all agencies. At present, the time taken to reach an established level of service is the most commonly used metric of different agencies. Because of the relatively high effectiveness, reliability, and timeliness of outcome-based and severity index–based performance metrics, more agencies are moving toward these types of metrics. Performance measurement by geographic area was also investigated but no clear trend was found.