Winter Maintenance on Ontario s Highways

Transcription

1 Ministry of Transportation Winter Maintenance on Ontario s Highways MTO Eastern Region November 18, 2015, Northumberland County Council

2 Outline 1. Winter Maintenance Areas - Eastern Region 2. Winter Maintenance Standard 3. Winter Maintenance - Contract Requirements - Technology 4. Improvements that have been made 5. Improvements coming this Winter 6. Contact & Resource Information 7. Questions? Slide 2

3 Winter Maintenance Areas Eastern Region Slide 3

4 Winter Maintenance Standard Ontario s snow and ice control standard is among the highest in North America. There are 5 highway classes for winter maintenance The Class is based on the winter traffic volumes (vehicles per day) Traffic counts are conducted every two years and the class is updated as appropriate Highway Class Winter Volumes (vpd) 1 >10, ,000 10, ,000 2,000 4** 500 1,000 5** <500 ** Not applicable in Eastern Region Slide 4

5 Winter Maintenance Standard Highway Class Bare Pavement Standard (following the end of a winter event) 1 Within 8 hours 2 Within 16 hours 3 Within 24 hours 4** Centre Bare within 24 hours 5** Snow packed within 24 hours ** Not applicable in Eastern Region Slide 5

6 Winter Maintenance Standard The ministry s goal and service commitment is to achieve the bare pavement standard after winter storms 90% of the time on average across the province. The ministry has consistently achieved this goal since we started reporting in Slide 6

7 Winter Service Levels - Highways within MTO s Eastern Region Slide 7

8 Winter Maintenance - Contract Requirements Highway Class Maximum Circuit Time Plowing & Sanding (Hours) ** 5.5 5** 10.0 ** Not applicable in Eastern Region Slide 8

9 Winter Maintenance - Contract Requirements Includes: Readiness of staff, equipment and materials to respond quickly Deployment of plows (upon accumulation of 2cm of snow) Spreading sand/salt (within 30 minutes of arrival of storm) Circuit times for plowing and salting Application rates for sanding and salting Continuous operations until bare pavement achieved Achieving bare pavement standard within the specified time Address isolated slippery sections Post storm clean-up (shoulders, median cross-overs, banks, commuter parking lots) Slide 9

10 Winter Maintenance Contract Requirements Contractors are responsible for: Patrol, calling out and directing their own operations in accordance with the contract requirements. Meet our winter maintenance bare pavement standard and contract requirements Slide 10

11 Winter Maintenance - Contract Requirements Transition Periods (before and after Winter Season) Winter Season is defined as: Nov 15 th to March 31 st Kingston West Transition Periods are the 30 day before and the 30 days after the Winter Season Contractors are required to have minimum 50% of the full winter equipment complement ready for Deployment during the Transition Periods Slide 11

12 Winter Maintenance Technology All winter equipment has AVL Uses GPS technology to track plow trucks, salt/sand trucks, patrol trucks, etc. Capable of tracking, storing and reporting movement and actions while in use, 24 hrs/day 7 days/week. Can monitor winter equipment in real time (within cell coverage) Provides detailed information; location, speed, operation (plowing, spreading), type of material (salt, sand), application rates Information is also stored in a database for later retrieval. Slide 12

13 Winter Maintenance Technology Slide 13

14 Winter Maintenance Technology Road & Weather Information System (RWIS) Integrated system of weather and road surface information MTO network of 140 stations Used to predict winter weather, road conditions & maintenance services Includes Detailed 24 hour weather forecast for rain, snow, temperature, dew point, wind Detailed 24 hour road surface forecast for snow or ice, frost, wet, damp, dry 7 day long range weather forecast Slide 14

15 Winter Maintenance - RWIS Slide 15

16 Winter Maintenance - DLA (Direct Liquid Application) Anti-icing liquids can be placed prior to snow, freezing rain or in frost susceptible areas (bridge decks) Remains on surface to melt initial precipitation and prevent the snow or ice from sticking to the surface Used more often in southern Ontario where temperatures are milder Used primarily at beginning or end of winter in Ontario Slide 16

17 Winter Maintenance Tow Plows Slide 17

18 Winter Maintenance Tow Plows Advances in equipment technology means that our highways can be maintained to our standard and contract requirements with different types and numbers of equipment. Tow plows are being used on many highways, depending on the contractors operations. Slide 18

19 Ongoing Improvements Province Wide 2013/14 55 additional units were added to clear passing lanes and truck climbing lanes across the province. 75% in Northern Ontario. MTO launched Twitter accounts to inform the public of highway Changed MTO Organizational Structure new Director of Maintenance and 5 Regional Maintenance Engineers Slide 19

20 Ongoing Improvements Province Wide additional units have been added in Southern Ontario to improve the service on freeway ramps and shoulders. 50% improvement on Highway 401 ramps in Eastern Ontario. AMC Contractors have brought in additional equipment in some areas to address issues from last winter (ie. circuit times on some routes) Improved MTO oversight. 20 new inspectors across the province (1 per AMC contract area) RWIS Cameras additional locations Initiate enhanced snow plow visibility Improved safety for operators and the public Winter Maintenance public education campaign. Slide 20

21 What s Changed Since Last Fall (Fall 2014) Ministry and contractor agree to mutually end the contract for highway services in the following areas and have / will be retender: Kenora area effective August 31, 2015 A new PBMC was tendered and the service provider is now Emcon Service Inc. Niagara Hamilton area effective July 31, Auditor General released a Special Report on Winter Maintenance in April Opportunity for the ministry to make improvements to the delivery of our winter maintenance program Slide 21

22 Hwy Mtce in Ontario Drivers for Change Auditor General s report on Winter Hwy Maintenance Key Recommendations For Action By The Ministry 1 Encourage proactive use of winter materials 2 Having sufficient winter equipment in good working order 3 Awareness and Accurate Reporting of Road and Weather Conditions 4 Improved reliability of Ontario 511 website 5 Best Value Procurement of Maintenance Contracts 6 Improved and more consistent oversight of contractor performance 7 Accurate and Meaningful reporting of bare pavement performance standard 8 Monitor and assess remedial measures Slide 22

23 Hwy Mtce in Ontario Drivers for Change June 2015 MTO Action Plan (Response to AG Report) For each of the 8 key recommendations the Ministry provided; Actions already taken Actions to be undertaken for winter of 2015/16 Longer term actions Minister has asked the Auditor General to come back at the end of this winter (2015/2016) and review the ministry s progress Slide 23

24 Winter Maintenance This Winter in Northumberland Ongoing attention on the ministry and contractors from the media and stakeholders. RWIS Weather Camera s available to the public MTO has launched Regional Twitter Accounts. Expanded patroller training to contractor staff. Winter readiness and performance incentive. Increased use of DLA through cost sharing incentive. Installation of Weather Warning System (WWS) Ministry and contractors in ER have worked to address contract specific issues in Northumberland Slide 24

25 Weather Warning System Slide 25

26 Location Map of System between Nagle Road and Percy Street Slide 26

27 Monitoring Camera and Lowering Device Weather Sensor Wind, Precipitation and Temperature Wavetronix Traffic Sensor Visibility Detection Sensor Slide 27

28 2015/16 Track My Plow Trial Owen Sound & Simcoe Area Slide 28

29 Public Contact & Resource Information Traffic Operations Centre Ottawa Bancroft Winter Road Conditions (website) Ministry Information & Resource Information Ontario.ca/511 Winter Road Conditions Call 511 Regional Twitter Accounts Service Ontario Winter Driving Tips Slide 29

30 Slide 30

31 Questions?