Snow Road Enhancement

Abstract

Snow roads are used extensively in areas where seasonal access to remote areas would otherwise be difficult or impossible for wheeled vehicles. Forestry operations in Scandinavia and Canada, petroleum operations in Alaska and Canada, and almost all activities in Antarctica make extensive use of this technology. Many techniques of preparing snow roads and runways have been used and studied, but the most intractable problems remain unsolved: how to extend the service life of the road as the warm season approaches and how to bridge damaged or transitional sections. Other, less important problems include sinkage of parked vehicles, damage to heavily trafficked areas, damage caused by fluid spills and infiltration by saltwater, and use limited to vehicles with low tire pressures. Research addressing these problems was conducted, and the preliminary results are encouraging. A short test section of road was constructed with geocells. This material is designed for use with sand or gravel but, instead, the cells were filled with packed snow. The resulting surface was very hard, stable, and resistant to damage by repeated passes by wheeled traffic. Paving blocks were also prepared by converting snow directly to ice by using very high compaction pressures in a hydraulic press. The material was very strong and was resistant to the infiltration of fluids of all kinds. The application of these two techniques would greatly reduce most problems encountered in the use of snow roads and runways.