Winter Maintenance on Provincial Highways District Municipality of Muskoka Winter Maintenance Update December 14, 2015
Outline 1. Auditor General s Report 2. MTO Action Plan 3. Recent Winter Maintenance Improvements in the Huntsville Area Slide 2
Auditor General s Report Released on April 29, 2015 Report did not include review of winter 2014/15 or the retendered Kenora area contract 8 Recommendations: Having sufficient equipment in good working order Encourage proactive use of winter materials Awareness and accurate reporting of road and weather conditions Improved reliability of Ontario 511 website Best-value procurement of maintenance contractors Oversight of contractor performance Accurate and meaningful reporting of bare pavement performance standard Monitor and assess remedial measures Auditor General completing follow-up review after winter 2015/16 Slide 3
MTO Action Plan Released on June 26, 2015 1. Having sufficient winter equipment in good working order Key equipment changes negotiated including: Standalone spreaders on some congested freeway corridors in GTAA Standalone spreaders at some locations on Trans Canada in northern Ontario Additional equipment for class changes, shortened routes or faster clearing of freeway ramps Additional equipment for clearing Highway 401 shoulders Additional equipment to load salt more quickly 2015/16 Winter Readiness and Performance Initiative: Pre-winter equipment inspections Preventative maintenance program Roster of operators Auditing performance of each unit 2. Encourage proactive use of winter materials Thresholds for risk sharing changed to encourage the right amount of material at the right time, from start to end of winter Education provided to contractors staff DLA incentive program (sharing costs) offered to contractors: Expected widespread use across southern Ontario freeways starting this winter Working with contractors on facility improvements Slide 4
MTO Action Plan 3. Awareness and accurate reporting of road and weather conditions Through contractor discussions, have addressed some contract specific patrolling gaps Expanded pilot project, adding dash cams and tablets in patrol vehicles Delivered patroller training for contractors staff Added 4 new Road Weather Information Stations (RWIS) Added 16 cameras to RWIS stations (144 stations now with cameras) Added over 50 roadside cameras at strategic locations 4. Improved reliability of Ontario 511 website Patrollers trained to report changing road and weather conditions Time-stamped road condition information ( condition observed at ) Link added for Weather Cameras, allowing public to view real time road conditions Link added for Track My Plow site starting with Owen Sound and Simcoe County areas, plans to expand Call 511 or www.ontario.ca/511 www.trackmyplow.com Slide 5
MTO Action Plan 5. Best-value procurement of maintenance contracts Completed review of Kenora contract procurement process (adjusted bid price) Held a town hall meeting with all past/present/potential contractors to discuss future contract models 6. Oversight of contractor performance Reviewed and updated oversight process and developed a new risk-based audit program Delivered training to all ministry oversight staff Slide 6
MTO Action Plan 7. Accurate and meaningful reporting of bare pavement performance standard Provided training to both contractors and MTO staff Completed a review of other jurisdiction and compared to Ontario s standards Retained University of Waterloo to develop and calibrate a winter severity index for each contract area On schedule to display bare pavement results and winter severity index for each contract area following winter 2015/16 8. Monitor and assess remedial measures Completed contractor discussions to address any contract specific issues from last winter, such as: equipment reliability circuit time compliance deployment operator availability patrolling Completed contractor discussions regarding: More spreading equipment during fall and spring transition periods Highway service level upgrades (Class changes) Standalone spreaders New or shortened routes Further changes for faster clearing of freeway ramps and shoulders Slide 7
Slide 8
Huntsville Area Maintenance Contract Winter of 2015/2016 Equipment Reliability and Performance Incentive Offer contractors an opportunity to earn winter readiness and performance incentive to enhance safety Contractors will be required to submit verification that winter equipment is ready (mechanical inspection) and provide roster of drivers Ministry will assess performance of each piece of equipment and its drivers through the winter season Direct Liquid Application (DLA) Incentive Encourage use of DLA when conditions are appropriate Huntsville AMC contractor is planning to participate this winter (2015/2016) Slide 9
Huntsville Area Maintenance Contract Changes for the Winter of 2015/2016 Substitute tow plow trailers servicing rural Class 1 Freeways in Huntsville Area Tow plows substituted on Highways 11 and 400 (rural Class 1 freeways) Tow plows still servicing passing lanes on secondary highways in Huntsville Increase ramp level of service from Class 3 to Class 2 on Highways 11 and 400 Highway 11 Gravenhurst and Elmsdale Patrols Highway 400 - MacTier and Parry Sound Patrols Increase level of service on both the Highway 11 and 400 Highway 11 additional route Highway 400 additional route Carillion in the process of developing an equipment fleet maintenance program for improved equipment reliability in Huntsville Slide 10
Huntsville Area Maintenance Contract Remote Automated Weather Station (RWIS) Currently the Ministry has 6 station across the Huntsville AMC area One additional RWIS station will be added on Highway 11 near Muskoka Falls this year Stand-alone Cameras 4 Cameras were installed along Highway 11 last winter in the Huntsville AMC area South Mary Lake Road (SB and NB) Rattray s Road (SB and NB) 3 Additional cameras will be installed this winter Highway 11 - Gravenhurst near MR169 Highway 118 Haliburton (Dover s Hill) Highway 400 Severn River Slide 11
Thank-you