[0:03] all good all right well like i said i'm gonna do

[0:06] something a little bit different today uh we're gonna talk about snow

[0:09] so it's uh it's december um i've already mobilized for an event

[0:14] um we did so uh this week uh on monday uh sunday to monday we had uh crews out

[0:20] um just uh to for the the flurries that we

[0:23] may or may not have had in the area um you know we are we are getting

[0:27] getting into that season so with that i'm gonna go ahead and get started with

[0:29] the presentation um this is for the 2020 and 2021 winter

[0:34] season uh this is the fredericksburg residency

[0:36] so i've got three counties within the

[0:39] fredericksburg residency i've got stafford county spotsylvania county and

[0:42] caroline county for lane miles i have 284 interstate

[0:49] lane miles 664 primary lane miles and 1835

[0:54] secondary lane miles that's a lot of lame miles to maintain and more

[0:58] importantly a lot of main lane miles to get snow and ice off the

[1:02] roadway um got 11 commuter lots in those

[1:05] counties uh in the green counties that you see over to the right

[1:08] i have 506 bridge and large culverts bridges and large culverts which as you

[1:13] all know they they very much uh freeze faster than the

[1:17] asphalt roadway that we've got and i've got 130 plus vdot residency

[1:22] employees you know under my purview in the

[1:25] residency that are out there dedicating their almost entire winter to

[1:30] snow removal um we deal with the uh local first

[1:34] responders the school transportation i've got staff that's uh entering

[1:39] information into va traffic in 5-1-1 on top of the 130

[1:44] employees that are reporting up through me

[1:46] i've got basically every employee in the district which the district goes all the

[1:49] way down to kilmarnock and matthews county and some

[1:53] of those areas i've got many of those employees that at

[1:57] my discretion to to use as monitors and have them out on

[2:01] the roadway and admin support it really is all hands on deck when we

[2:05] get into to snow season here in fredericksburg residency so some

[2:10] resources i think these are some really great numbers that

[2:13] i wanted to pass along to you all statewide we have a 211 million dollar

[2:17] budget for snow removal that's a lot of money um we set that

[2:21] aside every year just for snow and ice removal in the

[2:26] state for every event that we have an event

[2:30] being where i have to mobilize and i have

[2:33] contractors out on the road that's 11 million dollars a day statewide that

[2:36] we're spending on snow removal for equipment you know we use a lot of

[2:41] hired equipment we have i absolutely have state equipment but

[2:45] total pieces 11 300 of snow equipment signed up that we

[2:49] can have out on the road in what i'll call a level five storm where

[2:53] we have you know five plus inches of snow on the ground

[2:57] that's 11 300 that's including heavy equipment

[3:00] tandem single axles all kinds of great stuff

[3:04] as far as materials goes we have 690 000 tons of salt sand and treated abrasives

[3:10] and 2.1 million gallons of liquid calcium chloride or salt brine

[3:15] which i'll talk more about that in a little bit but you know i say all those

[3:18] numbers i say you know i give these big numbers as far as what we have as a

[3:22] budget statewide the reality is no matter what the cost is we're going to

[3:25] get the snow off the road that's the commitment that we have um we

[3:29] are not going to stop when we hit a magic number at the end of

[3:33] the day we're going to spend whatever resources we have

[3:36] to keep the virginians that are traveling out on the roadway safe

[3:40] so that is our commitment for sure how we prepare

[3:43] we are you know when we get to this time of year it absolutely rules uh

[3:47] my life for sure and i know all of uh probably many of you all and dealing

[3:51] with the schools and um very much from the vdot employee

[3:55] perspective we're constantly watching the forecast

[3:58] we're looking to see what the ambient temperature is going to be the

[4:01] roadway temperature is going to be we have contracted services that we can

[4:06] go in and i can pull up with the road temperature or the bridge temperature is

[4:09] going to look like at any given time within 48 to 72 hours

[4:13] we utilized that prior to storms to come up with a mobilization plan

[4:18] once we get that mobilization plan we make some decisions

[4:21] are we going to pre-treat are we going to put salt brine out on the road so

[4:24] when you all see those those trucks out you know 24 to 48 hours

[4:29] prior to the storm um putting down uh what looks like

[4:33] liquid uh get some calls oh why are you putting water on the road

[4:35] it's gonna freeze well it's not just water it's it's salt brine

[4:39] you'll see some little white white streaks that water will evaporate we've

[4:42] got salt that we'll maintain on the road and

[4:45] what that does is that that kind of pre um

[4:48] it pushes back the the time frame in which my

[4:52] state forces have to get their trucks and get the salt and sand out on the

[4:55] road it allows us a little bit of cushion and

[4:59] it pushes back that time that the ice and snow

[5:02] adheres to the pavement we don't do it on all of

[5:05] our events i'm probably getting a little bit ahead of myself i think i have a

[5:10] whole slide on this in a second so um when we talk about mobilization for

[5:13] smaller events you know we begin 12 to 18 hours prior

[5:16] to the forecasted storm but for large events it's anywhere

[5:20] up to a full day and maybe even more we're calling contractors we're getting

[5:24] our trucks staged out at commuter lots and contracts ready for commuter lots

[5:28] and um you know making sure that all of our

[5:30] vdot employees are ready and prepared to to be called out for 12-hour shifts

[5:36] when the time comes uh you know i just talked a lot about pre-treatment

[5:39] we have to make some decisions uh prior to the storm you will not see us

[5:43] brining uh putting the salt brine out on the road or the calcium chloride out on

[5:47] the road on every storm uh we have to we have to look at the

[5:50] temperature if it's going to be too cold sometimes that salt brine will freeze

[5:54] and then we could have an ice skating rink and that is not something we want

[5:56] to do so we are if it gets down to around 20 degrees on

[6:00] the pavement temperature we will not brine and more often than

[6:03] not um given where we're at in virginia a lot

[6:06] of our events start as rain and if we were to put salt brine out and

[6:10] the rain comes in it just washes everything right off the road and we've

[6:13] wasted our time we've wasted our money so we try to only do that if it's going

[6:17] to start as snow and that will buy us some time and allow

[6:21] us to get more ahead of the storm we we treat i-95 that's going to take

[6:25] our top priority after we do i-95 we also have some

[6:29] trucks that are out doing our primary route so we hit

[6:31] route 1 you'll see us hit 208 um you'll see us go out

[6:35] and and brian many of our primary roads with routes which are anything 600 and

[6:39] below i should say 599 and below um and then

[6:43] as we can we hit some of our we go and salt brine some of our high

[6:46] volume secondary roads as time permits it really is going to depend on how much

[6:51] time we have before the storm and how quick we can get started

[6:57] road clearing priorities so like i said this is not just for salt brine this is

[7:01] also for uh our just normal snow removal whether

[7:05] it's putting down salt sand abrasives or actually putting

[7:10] the plows down the road i-95 the ramps the bridges the

[7:13] overpasses that gets the priority right outside of that you've got the

[7:17] primary routes which i think there's a typo here that

[7:21] should be routes primary routes are numbered 600 and above the secondary

[7:27] routes are 599 and below we do make special exceptions absolutely

[7:33] for roads that are leading into public safety facilities

[7:36] we even have industrial drive let's say because we know that that's leading out

[7:41] to where rappahannock electric has their uh facility that is uh considered a

[7:45] primary route uh in the the world of snow removal even

[7:48] though the route number might not reflect that but we have to give

[7:51] priority to a route like industrial drive because if people have power

[7:54] outages that could be a safety issue we do the

[7:57] same thing for any of our state maintained

[8:00] first responder routes you know we work with them on a normal basis i send them

[8:04] our mobilization plans we are constantly in contact during events

[8:09] high volume secondary routes like i said commuter lots

[8:12] and then once conditions improve on the above facilities we enter into the

[8:16] subdivisions and low volume secondary routes

[8:20] when subdivisions is always a hot topic uh cool topic when we talk about

[8:26] some of the snow removal efforts that we have drivers report to the area

[8:29] headquarters to pick up a sign snow maps with highlighted routes plowing only

[8:34] begins when we have two inches or more on the ground that's

[8:39] actually putting the plow down and plowing snow it's only going to

[8:43] happen when we have two inches or more other than that we are using

[8:47] salt and sand to and potentially salt brine to treat the roads

[8:52] for the crews that first plow and treat main subdivision streets you'll see us

[8:57] sometimes come in and just do one pass on some of the main routes

[9:01] a lot of people ask why we do that well hey you missed our street you missed my

[9:04] subdivision well that's because we need to have one

[9:07] passable route for those first responders to get to

[9:10] where they need to go if there is an emergency if someone

[9:14] calls 9-1-1 we want to get them as close as we

[9:17] possibly can not to mention if someone does have an

[9:20] emergency and they call 9-1-1 i have a truck at every single one of my area

[9:24] headquarters that is literally designated for that

[9:27] i don't care if i'm paying them the entire storm to sit there

[9:30] they are there in case the first responders need them

[9:34] crews return to the plat and plow the side streets as allowable at the end

[9:37] at the end of the storm um you know that's going to be your low volume

[9:40] subdivision streets uh they don't always get that priority

[9:44] but we will make sure we get them but get to them uh after the storm is

[9:48] complete our goal is to reach most citizens as

[9:51] quickly as possible we've got hills curves intersections that we sand to

[9:55] provide traction my crews know where some of those larger

[9:59] areas are where i'll say the hot topic items where you have a larger hill

[10:03] or maybe there's a cold spot or maybe there's a drainage issue whatever it may

[10:07] be we make sure that these roads are

[10:09] passable again passable does not mean that you're going to get

[10:12] two lanes in and out of there sometimes passable during the heat of a

[10:16] you know a high-level storm is just what you see in that picture it's one lane in

[10:21] and out and that's going to be for those first responders in case there is

[10:25] an emergency situation it's drivable with extreme caution the

[10:30] road remains snow packed and will not necessarily be cleared curb to curb may

[10:33] not be visible bare pavement again we're doing whatever

[10:37] we can to make sure that they get that that service that they need in case

[10:41] there is an emergency um and we come back as time allows so we

[10:44] get a lot of frequently asked questions when we talk about snow

[10:48] what time will the plow reach my street for routine winter storms our goal is to

[10:52] make all roads passable as soon as possible

[10:55] following the end of the storm with significant snowfall in the one to two

[10:58] foot range additional time may be needed to hit all of the to come

[11:02] into those subdivisions that uh are low volume

[11:05] roads to to clear those things at the ends of the

[11:08] storm i work with the you know the school transportation in

[11:11] case there are some routes where they need to maybe

[11:14] our contractor missed something i'm constantly in contact with the school

[11:19] transportation people to make sure that those routes are cleared so that they

[11:22] can get back to school i live on a cul-de-sac or a side street

[11:26] why are the other roads plowed first i think we kind of touched

[11:28] on that already sometimes we do those main passes in

[11:31] uh to make sure that the emergency first responders can get in and out

[11:35] um that will get you you know close to where you need to go

[11:39] what if i have a medical emergency this is easy one you call 9-1-1

[11:43] like i said i've got i've got crews that are literally designated for

[11:48] that that sit on the lot that are ready to go

[11:51] why doesn't vdot put down sand and salt before it snows

[11:54] well when you talk about sand and salt coming down before a storm

[11:57] you get wind you get rain you get traffic that beats it off the road

[12:01] we would be wasting money we'd be wasting resources that's why we have

[12:04] that salt brine where you see um you know the pre-treatment out there

[12:07] that stuff stick that salt uh sticks to the road even after that water

[12:11] evaporates unless there is a rainstorm

[12:15] why does the plow push snow in front of my mailbox at the end of my driveway can

[12:19] vdot come back and remove the snow we get that one a lot i've worked with

[12:23] some of you all on this exact same complaint

[12:26] i would encourage you if you all get questions i would encourage them to put

[12:29] it in through the 1-800 for road system that stuff comes directly to us

[12:34] even during the storm we compile all that stuff and at the end we make sure

[12:37] we get back to these citizens the reality

[12:39] is the snow has to go somewhere we have to get the snow off the road our

[12:45] plows are angled we're on the right side of the road and when we make a pass

[12:48] around a cul-de-sac it pushes that snow out i i tell people

[12:52] all the time make sure when you're you're shoveling your real road

[12:56] know that that plow is going to come back back by and if you put the

[13:00] if you put the snow on a certain side of your driveway which

[13:03] would be from look at the right looking from the road my plow's going to knock

[13:07] it right back into your driveway so shovel that stuff to the left of your

[13:10] driveway if you're looking from the road i tell people that all the time it is a

[13:15] necessary evil to get the snow off the road

[13:18] it is up to the citizens to come and make sure that their driveway is open

[13:21] and clear um additional information so we actually

[13:24] have what's called um uh a uh a vdot plow tracker so all of

[13:30] our equipment whether it's state equipment or contractor equipment has

[13:33] avls on it i can look at any time and see where my

[13:36] equipment is not only that the public can go and they

[13:39] can look and see different maps and see if we've started plowing in

[13:42] their area i encourage you all to check that out when

[13:45] you're in the middle of a storm and you've got vdotplows.org you can see

[13:48] their their readiness they have the different

[13:50] maps and you'll have their color coded to see where we're at

[13:54] as far as snow removal throughout the state really

[13:59] we also have additional vdot staff which is outside of just my residency staff

[14:04] that is there acting as monitors they're

[14:06] riding the roads they're looking at the subdivisions

[14:09] and they're keeping up with those contractors i probably have

[14:12] over 300 employees that come to and work for the fredericksburg residency during

[14:17] snow removal drivers and residents can help before

[14:22] and during the storms monitor the forecast make plans

[14:25] accordingly telework and adjust commutes ensure you have gas wiper fluid proper

[14:30] tires food water and medicine when driving after the storm

[14:33] follow the driveway shoveling tips give plows the room that they need

[14:38] be patient we'll get there it's just a process

[14:42] we have to hit certain priority routes as we go to make sure that uh we're

[14:45] keeping the the motorists safe informational resources we have

[14:51] vdotplows.org that's where you can track uh some of

[14:54] your areas and see if we started plowing in that area

[14:57] we have our v.511 system i highly recommend

[15:01] you all following some of that stuff whether it's on twitter or social media

[15:05] we are updating those live time during events i have staff that is designated

[15:10] to to only look at va traffic and make sure

[15:13] that the conditions whether it's um severe

[15:17] uh or moderate conditions or light conditions whatever it may be they are

[15:22] actively updating that every four to six hours i believe during

[15:26] the storm so i definitely recommend everybody using that

[15:30] we have a facebook group that's vdot fredericksburg district facebook

[15:34] obviously the virginiadot.org and then we have the 1 804 road which i recommend

[15:40] you know for any safety concerns from your citizens you know please direct

[15:43] them back to that that stuff comes into our system

[15:45] we're able to put it in our queue and track it and get back with people uh

[15:50] you know it might not always be in the middle of the storm unless it's a safety

[15:53] issue but again if there's an emergency i recommend dialing 911 and we will work

[15:57] with those first responders you

VDOT Snow Removal Presentation to the Spotsylvania Board of Supervisors 12/8/20

Transcript