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July 8, 2002
The final report on the Sapporo 2002 PIARC International Winter Road Congress is now available. It provides information on new winter road maintenance technology presented at the PIARC Congress and SIRWEC Conference.

November 13, 2001
The purpose of the Guide for Selecting Anti-Icing Chemicals is to specify the key performance measures that are required from an anti-icing chemical and to suggest ways of grading chemicals according to those performance measures. It also provides a method whereby an agency can weight these measures according to the specific needs of that agency.

November 02, 2001
The report, Synthesis of Road Weather Forecasting , presents the results of a study to determine the arrangement that exists between local and national government surface transportation agencies and their national weather forecasting agency.

August 23, 2001
Nearly 70 transportation agencies and organzations worldwide participated in a study, Best Practices of Outsourcing Winter Maintenance Services , to find the best practices among governmental agencies that outsource winter maintenance services.

February 6, 2001
During the AASHTO Annual Meeting in December 2000, the Standing Committee on Highways approved an Administrative Resolution officially ending the Lead States program and commending the team members for their work.

November 27, 2000
The Aurora Program has begun Phase II of the Standardized Testing Methodologies for Pavement Sensors project. The original objective of this project was to establish and evaluate standard procedures for testing RWIS sensors, related software and models.

Phase I of the project attempted to discern the state of the practice around the world. Phase II will promote the development of national and international standards and procedures. The final report for Phase I is available in PDF.

August 11, 2000
The Pacific Northwest Snowfighters Association (PNS) is currently seeking speakers, panel members and workshop coordinators for the PNS Snow Conference 2001 on May 29, 30 and 31 in Kelowna, BC.

August 8, 2000
The Anti-icing/RWIS Team's Transition Plan is now online.

July 14, 2000
The American Meteorological Society (AMS) 81st Annual Meeting will include a session on weather in surface transportation. The deadline for submitting paper abstracts for this conference has been extended to July 21, 2000.

May 16, 2000
The Virginia Department of Transportation recently conducted a survey on bridge anti-icing systems. The results are now available online.

April 24, 2000
The AASHTO Task Force on SHRP Implementation met in Irvine, CA, on January 29, 2000. The meeting report is now online.

January 20, 2000
ASCE announces a call for papers for the Civil Engineering Conference & Exposition 2001: Engineers in a Changing World. The conference is scheduled for October 10-13, 2001, in Houston, Texas. Suggested subject areas include engineering management, education, information systems, and pavement rehabilitation, and materials. Proposals are due by May 19, 2000.

January 10, 2000
Proceedings of the 1999 AASHTO Lead States Workshop, August 30-31, 1999, St. Louis, Missouri, are now available. Included is a review by the Anti-icing/RWIS Team of its implementation efforts, including state-by-state accomplishments, tasks to be done, status of goals, team positives and negatives, transition issues, and an estimated budget for FY 2000.

September 13, 1999
The Research Project Statement for NCHRP Project 6-14, Feasibility of Using Friction Indicators to Improve Winter Maintenance Operations and Mobility, is now available. Proposals are due by 4:00 pm, October 28, 1999.

August 29, 1999
A call for papers has been announced for the 5th International Symposium on Snow Removal and Ice Control Technology, to be held in Roanoke, Virginia, on September 5-9, 2000. Suggested topics include policy and management, development and use of customer based performance measures, environmental issues, IVHS/ITS technologies, and large volume snow control. Interested authors should submit abstracts by November 1, 1999.

August 29, 1999
A call for papers has been announced for the 9th AASHTO/TRB Maintenance Management Conference. The conference will be held in Juneau, Alaska, July 16-20, 2000. Topics solicited for presentation include integrated management systems, new and transferable technologies, highway maintenance program evaluation, maintenance personnel issues, and environmental maintenance procedures and practices. The deadline for submission of abstracts is November 1, 1999.

July 14, 1999
The University of Iowa is offering a Winter Highway Maintenance course in the Fall 1999 semester. This is a web-based distance education course offered through UI's Center for Credit Programs. Topics covered include properties of snow and ice, safety and economics, chemical use, anti-icing, friction, abrasives, equipment, visibility, RWIS, thermal mapping, forecasting, and new technologies. For additional information contact Wilfrid Nixon.

June 15, 1999
Papers are being sought for presentation to three sessions sponsored by Committee on Winter Maintenance at the 79th Annual Meeting of the Transportation Research Board. The three sessions will cover the following topics: Anti-Icing Technology: Lessons Learned and New Developments; New Technologies in Winter Maintenance Operations; and Training, Technology Transfer, and Education in Winter Maintenance. Please submit papers by August 1, 1999.

June 2, 1999
A call for papers has been announced for the Cold Weather Show Conference to be held on August 8-10, 2000, in Arlington, Virginia. Presentations should be 15-20 minutes in length and allow 10 minutes for questions and change-over. Topics include infrastructure; individual needs; readiness, supply and design of equipment; and materials standards.

April 20, 1999
Proceedings of the 1998 AASHTO Lead States Workshop, September 27-29, 1998, St. Louis, Missouri, are now available to view online. These workshop proceedings provide background on the Lead States Program and document workshop objectives, opening remarks and breakout sessions. Included are reviews by each Lead States Team of its implementation efforts, specifically accomplishments, lessons learned, impact, phase-out considerations, estimated budget and goals.

April 13, 1999
A call for papers has been announced for the SIRWEC 2000 meeting in Davos, Switzerland on March 22-24, 2000. The Standing International Road Weather Commission (SIRWEC) is a forum for technology transfer among road engineers, climatology researchers and meteorologists. English is the official conference language. Full manuscripts are due September 30, 1999. For additional information, contact sirwec@sma.ch.

April 13, 1999
SICOP Technical Working Group (TWG 2.1) Report on Chemical Slickness:
A working group of the Snow and Ice Pooled Fund Cooperative Program (SICOP) met in March, 1999, to study reported difficulties associated with the application of liquid de-icing agents and to determine possible causes and solutions. Results of this study are expected in early summer, 1999.

March 23, 1999
The Tests & Trials database now includes projects presented in the Weather Synthesis Report prepared by the Federal Highway Administration for the Weather Workshop held June 17-18, 1997, in McLean, Virginia. This report provides an overview of surface transportation weather projects and programs, namely RWIS projects, conducted in the United States. Statewide projects; local, regional and corridor projects; pavement temperature projects; and meteorological projects are included. Each Tests & Trails record includes a project description, project status and a point of contact for additional information.

January 15, 1999
"Snow and Ice Control Manual for Transportation Facilities, by L. David Minsk, was recently published by McGraw Hill. The ISBN number is 0-070-042809-3.

January 4, 1999
There are a number of sessions at TRB that might be of interest. These include:

• 332 Wed 8 - 9:45 am Marriott
  Advances in Anti-Icing Technologies and Road Weather Information Systems
• 365 Wed 10.15 to Noon Marriott
  Application of New technologies to Winter Maintenance Operations
• 396 Wed 2.30 - 5.00 pm Marriott Findings from 1998 Winter Service Scanning Tour
• Committee A3C09 (Winter Maintenance) meets on Tuesday 7.30 pm at Balcony A, Marriott

October 7, 1998
The recent Lead States Workshop held in St. Louis September 28 and 29 was a very exciting time for the team. Two major items were covered. Among accomplishments, there were more than 80 individual achievements by team members. Notable among these was the fact that the "sphere of influence" concept seems to be working for the team. Team members have been successful in helping neighbor States apply the new technology.

Also of interest was the development of the team goals. The team will be surveying States to determine how Anti-icing and RWIS are justified and also to determine what new technologies in these areas might be forthcoming. It is also hoped that we will have a mid-year meeting in April of 1999 to discuss these and other developing issues. Watch this space for more news!

Coming up next week is the Midwest Snow and Ice Workshop, to be held in Rockford Illinois October 14 and 15. For more information, see our Calendar of Events.

September 21, 1998
Fall is always a busy time for the snow and ice community. Our Calendar of Events shows that there are lots of meetings happening at the end of September and into October. Check out this section to find details on a meeting near you.

Key among the meetings is the Lead States Meeting in St. Louis, September 27-29. We hope to have some new information resources coming from this meeting, so check back here afterwards for information on that.