Force of snow thrown up by passing plow

[Enginerdad]

Are there any references that might give guidance on how to design roadside features to withstand the force of snow thrown up by a passing plow? I have a decorative fence being attached to a bridge parapet, and one of the requirements we included in the spec is that the contractor has to design the anchorages to withstand such loads. I just got an RFI asking for what loads they should use. In the end, I think his engineer should be responsible for making that call, but if there are any resources I can point them to it would help expedite things.

 

[MotorCity]

Not sure if this will help, but this is what a Google search turned up.

https://onlinepubs.trb.org/Onlinepubs/sr/sr185/185-038.pdf

If this issue is not addressed by AASHTO or other widely known reference standard, I don't think your spec is a fair ask of the contractor. There is no precedence for the standard of care.

 

[Enginerdad]

If this issue is not addressed by AASHTO or other widely known reference standard, I don't think your spec is a fair ask of the contractor

I agree with you on that. I did not write the spec, but I'm the one handling the RFI. It is what it is...

On a happier note, I did find that Colorado DOT specifies a load of 96 plf applied 1'-6" from the bottom of fence for this exact scenario. It's not exactly an industry-accepted source, but it's at least something.

 

[SWComposites]

What will destroy a fence or anything else along the plowed road is not unpacked snow being thrown, but the pile of packed snow and ice that is scraped up and thrown. Having shoveled way too much of that stuff long ago, it is very heavy and solid. So don't underestimate the loads.