Bridge Decks and Plow Timing: Questions for Your Supervisor

Questions to ask

Priority and timing

1. Are bridge decks on our routes marked as priority places in our plan?
2. Who decides when they are checked or treated, and what triggers it?
3. Do we have a list of every bridge and overpass on each route, with its owner?

Treatment

4. What treatment do we use on decks, and who sets the rate?
5. Does the structure’s owner have any limits on the materials used?
6. How do we record what was applied and when?

Plowing and the edge

7. Are there expansion joints, raised joints or grates where the edge could catch? Where are they?
8. Do we lift, slow or use a different edge setting on decks?
9. Are there curb or barrier features close to the lane where the edge might strike?

Safety

10. What should a driver do if a deck looks glazed and the truck slides?
11. How do we report a deck condition to the supervisor quickly?

Using the answers

The answers belong on the route sheet, not in an email.

• Put bridge decks on the route sheet with the joint locations and the agreed settings.
• Brief new drivers by driving the route and pointing out each structure.
• After each storm, ask drivers what they saw and note it.

Limits

Local policy decides priorities and treatment, and the owner of each structure may have rules. Treat this as a question list and check each answer with your supervisor and the structure’s owner.

Building the structure list

Make a table of every bridge and overpass on your routes with its owner, a landmark, any known joint problem and its treatment priority. Update it after each season. The list takes an afternoon and is reused for years.

Boundary: No claim about why or when bridge decks freeze is made; a source on that was not verified for this draft.