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Alaska's reflective poles

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kphoger:
They are officially called an "Overhead Snow Pole" by the Alaska DOT, and their use is optional in "areas with poor winter visibility and extremely heavy snow accumulations".  A variant was developed by Pexco specifically for the Dalton as well.

https://dot.alaska.gov/stwddes/dcstraffic/assets/pdf/atm/current/part3.pdf
https://dot.alaska.gov/nreg/daltondelineators/

Quillz:

--- Quote from: kphoger on October 07, 2022, 10:30:00 AM ---They are officially called an "Overhead Snow Pole" by the Alaska DOT, and their use is optional in "areas with poor winter visibility and extremely heavy snow accumulations".  A variant was developed by Pexco specifically for the Dalton as well.

https://dot.alaska.gov/stwddes/dcstraffic/assets/pdf/atm/current/part3.pdf
https://dot.alaska.gov/nreg/daltondelineators/

--- End quote ---
Oh, interesting. I've only taken the Dalton Highway to the Arctic Circle, not gone north of there yet. Using Google Maps, I found some of those poles through the Brooks Range area. I guess that explains why they are grouped the way they are, those areas just accumulate a lot of snow for various reasons.

triplemultiplex:
One sees those types of more elaborate delineators through mountain passes quite often.  They are indeed to help the snowplow drivers stay on the road during snow removal.  These are sections of road they shut down when it's snowing too hard and wait for it to stop before trying to plow.  Several feet can accumulate over the course of the shutdown and the edge of the road becomes ill-defined; especially when it's drifting.  And in mountain sections like this, going into the "ditch" means a long, deadly tumble.

The reflectivity aids vehicles in staying on the road during low visibility, too.  They're especially nice at revealing an upcoming curve in the road. Driving at night in a snowstorm is a white-knuckle experience as it is on flat terrain.  In the mountains, the stakes are bit higher. ;)

US 89:
These are way more elaborate than anything I've ever seen in the western lower 48. Most snow poles out there tend to look something more along the lines of this or this.

triplemultiplex:
By cantilevering them from further beyond the edge of the road, they reduce the chances of the delineators getting knocked over by the snowplows.

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