Winter Road Maintenance Management in the Government of Catalonia’s Road Network Winter Maintenance Management in a over 6,000 km road network in South Europe region

1. 14TH
INTERNATIONAL
WINTER
ROAD
CONGRESS
Andorra,
4-­‐7
February
2014
Ferran Camps Roqué
Deputy Director-General for Road Network Operations
Directorate-General for Land Transport Infrastructure
ferran.camps@gencat.cat
Winter Road Maintenance Management in the
Government of Catalonia’s Road Network
14th INTERNATIONAL WINTER ROAD CONGRESS
Andorra, 4-7 February 2014

2. 14TH
INTERNATIONAL
WINTER
ROAD
CONGRESS
Andorra,
4-­‐7
February
2014
2
1 GENERAL FRAMEWORK
! The road network
! Main characteristics of winter road maintenance
! Objectives
2 ORGANIZATION AND AVAILABLE RESOURCES
3 ACTION PLANS
! Preventive Winter Road Maintenance Plan
! Curative Winter Road Maintenance and Snow Removal Plan
! Special Snow Emergency Plan
The Directorate-General for Land Transport Infrastructure (DGIMT) activates the Winter Road
Maintenance Plan for over 150 days a year. The aim of this plan is to ensure safety, smooth flow
and comfort on the road network managed by the Government of Catalonia.
! Control and road operation centres
! Human resources
! Available machinery
CONTENTS
14th INTERNATIONAL WINTER ROAD CONGRESS
Andorra, 4-7 February 2014

3. 14TH
INTERNATIONAL
WINTER
ROAD
CONGRESS
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4-­‐7
February
2014
General framework1
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The Catalan road network
4
Catalonia has 12,063 km of road
network, of which 6,082 km are
managed by the Government of
Catalonia
! Catalan roads connect the entire territory and
provide service 24 hours a day, 356 days a
year to population and socioeconomic centres
throughout Catalonia.
! Almost 25% of the Government of Catalonia’s
roads are at an altitude above 600 m.
Consequently, ice and snow may occur during the
entire winter period.
Catalan road network by government agency
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Ice-related incidents on roads
5
These incidents can occur when the
temperature drops to 3ºC, depending
on relative humidity
! In all Catalonia, the temperature is liable to drop to 3ºC
once a year. Consequently, there is a risk of patches of ice
forming on the roads.
! Data from the past show that there are on average 120 ice-
related incidents on roads every year.
! This figure may vary considerably from year to year, as it
is closely linked to the weather. For example:
Minimum temperature (ºC) (December – March)
Ice-related incidents during the 2012-2013 winter season
! 2009: 259 ice-related incidents
! 2011: 64 ice-related incidents
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Snow-related incidents on
roads
6
These incidents can occur when it
snows and the snow settles on the
roads
! All of Catalonia, except the coastal area in the southern
third, is liable to experience at least one day of snow a
year.
! Data from the past show that there are on average 200
snow-related incidents on roads in Catalonia every year.
! This figure may vary considerably from year to year, as
it is closely linked to the weather. For example:
Snow-related incidents during the 2012-2013 winter
season
! 2007: 64 snow-related incidents
! 2009: 521 snow-related incidents
Annual number of days of precipitation in the form
of snow
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Avalanche-related incidents
on roads
7
These can occur when it snows
abundantly, the temperature is low and
there are prevailing winds
Snow cover at Comalada (2075 m) and Cap del Port (2245 m) 2012-13
! The main avalanche-related incidents on Catalan roads
occur, principally, on the C-28 at the Bonaigua Pass
and the C-142b at the access to El Pla de Beret.
! On average, the number of avalanches mapped in recent
years is 4 per winter season.
! As in the case of snow and ice, this figure can vary
widely every year.
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Objectives
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1. Ensure safety, smooth flow and comfort on
roads during the winter period.
2. Minimize the length of time that road restrictions
are in place or roads are closed.
3. Reduce road deterioration caused by ice and
snow.
4. Manage operations effectively and efficiently, and
ensure that the overall cost is acceptable.
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9. 14TH
INTERNATIONAL
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Organization and available resources2
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Vic Road Control Centre
10
The Vic Road Control Centre is the base for monitoring the
state of the roads 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and
activating the action and emergency plans.
During the 2012-2013 winter season, the Vic Road Control
Centre registered the following:
Location of winter road maintenance incidents (2012-2013)
Vic Road Control Centre
Incidents 5,800
Winter road maintenance incidents 143
Winter maintenance
incidents
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Road operation centres
11
Types Centres
Indirect management (concession) 12
Direct management 25
Total 37
Location of road operation centres
! The service is provided in all of Catalonia due to 37 road
operation centres distributed throughout the territory.
! Resources are allocated according to the characteristics of
each area. For example::
Tortosa centre 1 snowplough
Esterri d’Àneu centre 8 snowploughs
Direct management
Indirect management (concession)
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Available machinery
12
120
machines
7
machines
Over half the machines are located in the northern third of Catalonia, and 20 units
are dedicated to the maintenance of the four main roads that provide access to the
Pyrenees.
SNOWPLOUGHS SNOW BLOWERS
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Bulk salt storage facilities
13
Location of the bulk salt storage facilities
29
stores
35
silos
To carry out the winter road maintenance activities,
various sites throughout the Catalan territory have
silos and stores of salt and brine.
De-icing agent Amount
Salt 10,996 t
Brine 110 m3
The silos and stores contain the following:
14th INTERNATIONAL WINTER ROAD CONGRESS
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14. 14TH
INTERNATIONAL
WINTER
ROAD
CONGRESS
Andorra,
4-­‐7
February
2014
Action plans3
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Preventive Winter Road
Maintenance Plan
15
This plan is activated mainly to stop
patches of ice from forming and to
prevent snow from settling
! On the basis of data from the meteorological
stations (MeteoCat and DGIMT) that provide
information on:
! Experience and optimization of routes.
! Winter Road Maintenance Management System.
! Temperature on the road
! Humidity
! Wind
! Salt or brine is spread on the road, depending
on the humidity, to stop patches of ice or snow
from forming on the road.
! This plan is fully operational for over 150 days a
year.
! This type of actions are carried out on 60% of
the km covered by snow removal machines.
How are the areas that require action selected? Characteristics
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Curative Winter Road Maintenance
and Snow Removal Plan
16
This plan is activated to remove
patches of ice and snow that have
appeared on roads
! When one of the following groups informs the
centres that there is snow on the roads:
! Users
! Mossos d’Esquadra police force
! Monitoring teams (DGIMT)
! Winter Road Maintenance Management
System
! Salt is spread on the road to eliminate patches of
ice and snow that have formed. Treatments are
carried out according to the temperature and
humidity.
! This plan is usually implemented approximately 30
days a year.
! This kind of action is carried out on almost 40%
of the km of roads on which snow removal
machines operate.
When is it activated? Characteristics
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Levels of priority of actions
on the roads
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Priority 1 roads
Priority 2 roads
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Extraordinary episodes
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There is a legal and functional
framework for responding to all
emergencies caused by snow and
avalanches
! To respond rapidly and effectively to minimize
potential damage to people, property and the
environment.
! Re-establish basic services for the population
as quickly as possible (particularly transport).
Special Snow Emergency Plan (NeuCat)
Special Avalanche Emergency Plan (AllauCat)
OBJECTIVES:
Level 1 Risk Situation
From 0 m to 600 m > 0 cm
From 600 m to 800 m > 5 cm
From 800 m to 1,500 m > 20 cm
Level 2 Risk Situations
From 0 m to 400 m > 5 cm
From 400 m to 800 m > 20 cm
From 800 m to 1,500 m > 40 cm
Road network risk situations due
to the effects of snowfalls:
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General data
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2012 – 2013 winter season
Total distance covered 570,344 km
Hours worked 20,149 hours
km covered in curative actions and snow removal
km covered in preventive operations
Km.Km.
14th INTERNATIONAL WINTER ROAD CONGRESS
Andorra, 4-7 February 2014

20. 14TH
INTERNATIONAL
WINTER
ROAD
CONGRESS
Andorra,
4-­‐7
February
2014
Winter Road Maintenance Management in the
Government of Catalonia’s Road Network
14th INTERNATIONAL WINTER ROAD CONGRESS
Andorra, 4-7 February 2014
Ferran Camps Roqué
Deputy Director-General for Road Network Operations
Directorate-General for Land Transport Infrastructure
ferran.camps@gencat.cat