Evaluation of Epoke bulk spreader for winter maintenance

Performing organization: The University of Akron.; "Project performed in cooperation with the Ohio Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration"--P. ii.; "December 2013."; Executive summary report (3 leaves) laid in.; Includes bibliographical references (p. 136-139).; Final report.; State job no. 134651In the current economic climate, it is imperative to maximize efficiency while minimizing costs. As a result, ODOT is evaluating new methods to reduce expenditures in their winter maintenance budget. One such evaluation is of the Epoke Bulk Spreader, which is a salt and brine spreader capable of applying material over multiple lanes in a single pass. A thorough evaluation of the Epoke must be conducted in order to determine the feasibility for implementation, including: the impact on level of service (LOS), material usage, and versatility of the equipment. To successfully evaluate the Epoke, several areas of data must be collected, including: weather, traffic, plow truck, tanker anti-icing, and summer herbicide spraying data. The data collection for this project occurred in the Boston Heights garage in Summit County. A salt savings of 12% was realized through the use of the Epoke, with the payback period occurring in year eight with salt prices at $40 per ton and 20,000 tons of salt used annually by the garage. However, savings with the tanker truck were overall negligible. The Epoke is found to reduce salt usage and labor times, while maintaining the level of service