Customers often want to know when we will begin work for the season. Weather is the main factor in this answer. Besides dry ground, and warmer temperatures, the frost laws play a role in when we begin job installation.
Every year the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) and local agencies enact spring weight restrictions to protect roads. When roads that have been frozen all winter begin to thaw from the surface downward, melting snow and ice saturate the softened ground. During the spring thaw, the roadbed softened by trapped moisture beneath the pavement makes it more susceptible to damage. (Michigan.gov)
MDOT determines when weight restrictions begin each spring by measuring frost depths along state highways, observing road conditions, and monitoring weather forecasts. Weight restrictions remain in effect until the frost line is deep enough to allow moisture to escape and the roadbeds regain stability. (Michigan.gov)
This year the frost laws went into effect on Monday, Feb. 19, 2018. We anticipate these will be lifted in mid-April. We call the MDOT hotline daily for updates. As soon as they are lifted we begin our season.
In addition to state roads under the MDOT jurisdiction, all counties have local restrictions on roads under their jurisdiction. We follow the Oakland County Road Commission; however, many of our supplies come from Northern counties which tend to lift restrictions later in the spring.
