These costs can be substantial.  In Montgomery County, Maryland, which includes a portion of Washington's northern suburbs, there are 2,485 miles of county-maintained roads to be cleared (not including the major highways maintained by the state).  The county uses 197 pieces of equipment, including 115 dump trucks with plow and sander. Nine hundred tons of salt and sand mix are needed to treat the major roads and streets just once, with another 1,600 tons required for neighborhood streets. All in all, the county stores nearly 37,000 tons of salt and sand for use in snow removal.  The costs of all this are not separately budgeted, but, depending on how much snow falls in a given year, comprise a significant part of the county's $244 million annual public works expenditures.

Washington, DC, of course, receives relatively little snow compared to more northern U.S. cities, such as Boston, Minneapolis, and Buffalo, NY, or to most of Canada.  The effort required and the costs in these places are considerably higher.

The key technology used in snow removal, the snow plow, was invented in 1840. According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) in Colorado, one of the first mentions of snow plow use was in Milwaukee, WI, in 1862.  Prior to that time (and to some extent afterward), urban snow removal was largely haphazard and involved individual citizens shoveling the streets in front of their homes or shops or, sometimes, hired shovelers.  Motorized plows came into use early in the 20th century, as motor vehicles became a primary mode of transportation in the U.S. The Barber-Green Snowloader, which uses a scoop and a conveyor belt to load snow into a dump truck to be hauled away, was invented in 1920.  More recently devices that scoop up and melt snow, then drain off the water, have been put into use in some cities.  The Toronto snow melting machine pictured above is capable to melting up to 136 tons of snow per hour.  This technology is particularly useful in northern cities where sun and warmer weather cannot be relied upon to melt the large piles of snow created by plowing streets.

Finally, of course, removing snow and controlling ice on streets and roads in many places relies on the spreading of sand and salt. Salt was first used for this purpose in the 1800s, but citizens complained that it ruined clothes and shoes and made sleighing impossible. Today salt is widely used in some areas, although it has corrosive effects on cars, roads, and bridges, as well as damaging vegetation and polluting watersheds. Snow removal and control is a field ripe for technological innovation.

City of Toronto Snow Management and Removal Operations. "Up to 201 de-icers and 673 road snowploughs are assigned to manage a snowfall in Toronto. The city operates 303 sidewalk ploughs and can deploy more than 400 additional pieces of equipment."  See, also, the Toronto Snow Melting Machine pictured above.

Call for Abstracts for the 5th International Symposium on Snow Removal and Ice Control Technology. The meeting is long since over; it took place in Virginia in September 2000.  But the list of topics provides an idea of what the experts are thinking about and doing research on. (PDF)

The XIth PIARC International Winter Road Congress.  This meeting is also history.  It took place in Sapporo, Japan, in January 2002.  The site has a good deal of interesting information, however, including a section on winter road technology in Japan.

Reports from the Sapporo Congress by Paul F. Keranen of the Minnesota Department of Transportation. With links to the congress proceedings, photos of equipment displayed there and more.

Tenco Machinery (CDN) Ltd., a major Canadian manufacturer of snow and ice removal equipment.

U.S. Air Force Civil Engineer Support Agency Snow and Ice Control Program.  Conveniently located at Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida (!), this program's mission is to "enhance the operational efficiencies and capabilities of snow and ice control operations by providing technical support and general guidance on Air Force snow control issues."

History of snow removal in Sapporo, Japan.  Forget terrorism, crime, and health care, in 1998, "a public opinion poll by the city showed that snow removal had been the citizens' largest concern for the previous 20 years."

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, "Storm Water Management Fact Sheet:  Minimizing the Effect of Highway Deicing."  Sensible salting advice from EPA. September 1999 (PDF).

William T. Sunley, engineer of local roads and streets, "Anti-Icing Technology," Illinois Municipal Review (September 1996). Short article on how to use chemicals (including salt) to remove snow and ice.

"Focus on Snow Control," Better Roads Magazine. Covers a variety of products, with links to the manufacturers.

"Savage Snow Day," Technology Exchange Newsletter (of the Minnesota Technology Transfer Program). Winter 2000.  Savage is a town in Minnesota, not a really bad snowstorm.

"Snow Removal in Ohio: A Matter of Pride," American City & County, September 1, 2001.

"Winter Maintenance Technology and Practices--Learning from Abroad," Road Management & Engineering Journal, March 1, 1997. Dr. Rand Decker of the University of Utah and six American transportation officials observed snow and ice control operations in Japan and Europe during a March 1994 International Winter Maintenance Scanning Tour. This is a report on what they found.

"Snowmaking Technology," Teich's Tidbit of the Week for September 26, 2001.  For a change of pace, the other side of the story.