Roadway Snow and Ice Control

Roadway snow and ice control (RSIC) is one of the most complex and fascinating venues for arc routing applications. Arc routing problems occur in several different aspects of RSIC, including plowing roadways and sidewalks, spreading chemicals (salt and other de-icers) and abrasives (sand and stone), and in using snowblowers to load snow into trucks for hauling to disposal sites. The limited progress of computerized routing packages in this area (Office of the Legislative Auditor, 1995) highlights the difficulty of the problems and the weaknesses of theoretical arc routing models for snow and ice control. Part of the difficulty is due to the complex operational and infrastructure constraints, especially in urban areas. The dynamic nature of the problems also adds complexity, as conditions can vary dramatically over time and space. Furthermore, a wide variety of equipment with different operating characteristics can be deployed for RSIC.