Winter road maintenance resource allocation models

Abstract

Winter snow storms could cause serious disruptions to traffic and transportation. Because resources for winter road maintenance, such as snow removal trucks, are limited, using them properly would improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the winter maintenance work. However, a fixed resource allocation plan among service regions may not work well in several situations because of different types and intensity of winter storms. Therefore, reallocation of resources among service regions is often needed. The objective of this research is to develop a resource reallocation model that minimizes the total cost of reallocation operations and provides equitable resources to service regions. Road and weather condition factors, such as road classes, weather forecasts, and service levels, are taken into account in the model.