Winter Road Maintenance
Making roads safe in the winter
 Because
safety is the number one priority for RCOC, when snow storms hit,
we're out there plowing and salting to ensure the roads remain as
ice-free as possible. But doing that during a major snow storm can
be a real challenge.
In fact, snow storms that last 24 hours or more (many do in Michigan)
can require the use of thousands of tons of salt, cause salt truck
drivers to work long shifts (up to 16 hours spent driving in the
worst of conditions, before they can take a five-hour break) and
cost RCOC hundreds of thousands of dollars. And there are no road
improvements to show for that expenditure.
But it's not just major snow storms that require us to crank up
our salt trucks and plows. In fact, freezing rain or a light dusting
of snow that turns to ice can require that we send out our full
force of salt trucks and plows for hours on end.
And, to ensure we're prepared when bad weather hits, we monitor
the weather 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the winter,
using Doppler radar and several professional weather services.
We're often asked how we decide which roads to salt or plow first.
It's quite simple: We focus first on the roads with the most traffic,
except in situations where abnormal conditions are known to exist
or emergencies involving public health and safety occur. That means
we'll work on the freeways and major thoroughfares before less-travelled
streets. It also means subdivision streets and gravel roads are
usually the last to be cleared.
Here's our official winter maintenance priority ranking:
1. Critical Priority
Critical Priority roads are paved state and county roads with
traffic volumes normally greater than 10,000 vehicles per day per
single lane, and/or 40,000 vehicles per day with roads four or more
lanes.
2. Priority I
Priority I roads are paved state and county roads with volumes
of 2,500 to 10,000 vehicles per day per single lane. In addition,
terrain and road alignment are factors in assigning this priority.
Priority I may also be assigned to roads to achieve route continuity
and efficiency.
3. Priority II
Priority II roads are other paved county roads. Priority II roads
may be maintained as part of higher priority routes, but are generally
maintained after Critical and Priority I roads are cleared.
4. Priority III
Priority III roads are those paved roads providing access to hospitals,
schools, and other significant traffic generators, and not categorized
as Critical, Priority I or Priority II roads.
If you have any further questions or comments regarding snow removal
policies, feel free to contact us.
For more information view our Winter Road Maintenance publication:
Or our Plowing Subdivisions In Oakland County publication:
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