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Closed roads . . . reduced visibility . . . whiteout conditions
. . . farmsteads without access to emergency services . . . travel
delays . . . dumped milk. . . stranded motorists . . . schools closed
. . .
Off-road plantings
keep state highways clear in winter. Federal and state government
are partnering to expand the living snow fence program.
Have you noticed
big snowdrifts on highways after a storm? Are you ever concerned
about your safety during a blizzard? Did you know that something
can be done to stop blowing snow? The Minnesota Department of Transportation
is identifying sections of highway that experience snow blowing
and drifting snow problems. Mn/DOT and their partners are working
with property owners to design and construct living snow fences
that will control the blowing snow and fit into the property owners
land use/farming operation.
Living snow
fences are designed plantings of trees and/or shrubs and native
grasses located along roads or around communities and farmsteads.
Standing corn rows are six to eight rows
of standing corn set back approximately 200 feet from the edge of
the highway right of way. Properly
designed and placed, these living barriers trap snow as it blows
across fields, piling it up before it reaches a road, waterway,
farmstead or community.
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Drift-free roads are achievable through two mitigation strategies,
proper road design and/or the use of snow fences. A suitably designed
roadway will promote snow deposition in ditches rather than on the
roadway and blowing snow that does reach the road will move across
without drifting. Snow fences can also help maintain clear roadways
by capturing blowing snow upwind of a problem area and storing that
snow over the winter season.
 more
The topography, land-use characteristics and winter climate for
much of Minnesota cause this area to be particularly vulnerable
to blowing and drifting snow on roadways. The end result of the
problem often includes a reduction in driver safety, degradation
of road quality, and significant removal costs for drifted snow.
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