A grid fence to prevent dangerous snow clumps from falling from a bridge
Snow and ice accrete on bridges and other road structures in cold, snowy regions.
To mitigate the danger of snow and ice dropping from these structures when the air temperature rises and traffic causes vibration, snow and ice are manually removed.
On bridges, snow and ice accrete on high members. The removal of such accretion involves closing lanes to traffic and other difficulties.
To eliminate the need for manual snow removal, various measures have been used, such as heating systems and special coatings.
However, these aren’t always effective for every member or location.
In 2007, a grid fence was installed at Toyokoro Bridge in Hokkaido Pref. as a new measure.
The fence has three features.
- It causes snow pieces to fall from the bridge before they harden and enlarge.
- It doesn’t require operating costs, such as those for heating or repainting.
- Snow and ice are prevented from falling in large, dangerous pieces. The need for dangerous manual winter maintenance work is eliminated.
Wind-powered road heating on bridge decks
Electricity generated by wind power is used for road facilities.
At Rinkai Bridge, electricity from wind is used to power the air-source heat pump road heating system.