Alternative Delivery Methods for Winter Maintenance Operations

Different approaches for delivery of maintenance operations have been employed by highway agencies in recent years— many of which aimed at outsourcing government services. Although some of these approaches have been adopted for winter maintenance operations, a systematic decision-making framework is not readily available for identifying the delivery method for winter maintenance operations that is best suited for a specific situation. Thus, there was a need to develop a decision-making framework to guide public road agencies in identifying the effective methods of providing this essential service and selecting the preferred method while considering prevailing legislative, societal, and resource constraints. National Cooperative Highway Research Program Project 20-07(329), “Alternative Delivery Methods for Winter Operations,” was conducted to address this need. This digest summarizes the findings of this research. The research obtained information through a review of international literature, responses to a questionnaire provided by public- and private-sector transportation agencies, and telephone interviews with transportation specialists. This information was used to identify the different delivery methods applicable to winter maintenance that are employed in the United States and other countries. The information also identified relevant issues surrounding decisions on highway-service delivery, such as financial risks, quality of service, impact on workforce, performance standards and measures, industry qualification/capabilities, and actions to maintain competition in procurement and continuing availability of service providers. The research then organized and used these findings to develop the decision-making framework. It also documented sources of additional supporting information, and discussed different scenarios by which the decision framework could be applied and refined.