Highway anti-icing is the snow and ice control practice of preventing the formation or development of bonded snow and ice by timely applications of a chemical freezing-point depressant. It provides a maintenance manager with two major capabilities: the capability for maintaining roads in the best conditions possible during a winter storm, and the capability to do so in an efficient manner. As a consequence, anti-icing has the potential to provide the benefit of increased traffic safety at the lowest cost. However, to achieve this benefit the maintenance manager must adopt a systematic approach to snow and ice control and must ensure that the performance of the operations is consistent with the objective of preventing the formation or development of bonded snow and ice. Such an approach requires use of considerable judgment in making decisions, requires the available information sources be utilized methodically, and requires that the operations be anticipatory or prompt in nature. This manual provides information for successful implementation of an effective highway anti-icing program. It is written to guide the maintenance manager in developing a systematic and efficient practice for maintaining roads in the best conditions possible during a winter storm. It describes the significant factors that should be understood and must be addressed in an anti-icing program, with the recognition that the development of the program must be based on the specific needs of the site or region within its reach. The manual includes recommendations for anti-icing practices and guidance for conducting anti-icing operations during specific precipitation and weather events. (Author/publisher) This report may be accessed by Internet users at http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/publications/research/safety/95202/index.cfm
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