South Dakota Department of Transportation Snowplow Route Optimization Services

Quetica was awarded a project to work with the South Dakota Department of Transportation to provide snowplow route optimization services to 7,800 miles of South Dakota roads in the network of 82,000 miles of roadway assigned to the South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT). Improving public safety and creating better processes are strategic objectives SDDOT is pursuing to meet the needs and expectations of the traveling public. The research project is exploring how snowplow route optimization can improve the current winter maintenance operations and evaluate alternative routing strategies to minimize deadhead miles while maximizing working miles. Simultaneous with researching and optimizing snow plow routes, this study seeks to optimize the entirety of SDDOT’s winter operations.