[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