Episode 136: Keep snow off the road with Snow Fence, Minnesota style

The easiest snow flake to remove from the roadway is the one that never lands on it.  Seems obvious but how to make that happen?  On this episode we’re Talkin Winter Ops with Dan Gullickson, Minnesota DOT supervisor of their Blowing Snow Program.  Ever since the 1880’s when the railroads first started building snow fence to protect the track and the work on snow fence design that was part of the Strategic Highway Research Program in the 1990’s, engineers have been working to refine snow fence design, materials, and earthwork configurations to manage drifting snow and keep it off the road.

Listen in as Dan describes the latest state of the practice in snow fence design considerations they are employing at the Minnesota DOT.

For more information on building a snow fence program check out the FHWA Road Weather Spotlight webinar on September 10, 2025.  Register for the webinar using this link: https://lnkd.in/e7YuJHdJ

You can reach Dan by email at [e-mail] for more insight into their practice and while your at it check out this flyer from the University of Minnesota LTAP center on a solar powered snow fence project https://mnltap.umn.edu/ltapnews/2024/october/solarsnowfence  

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Thanks for listening in and stay safe out there!