Travel was no fun Tuesday as temperatures peaked at a miserable 1 degree. But as the thermometer outside dips from cold to downright ludicrously frigid, how do Denver’s transportation systems keep from freezing?
Turns out that it’s all in the preparation.
At Denver International Airport, precautions are taken across the board.
DIA operations staffers spent Tuesday patrolling runways in specially equipped SUVs, gauging air and surface temperatures and measuring friction on the runway.
While the Federal Aviation Administration has the final say on whether it’s safe to fly, the feds rely on pilots to report runway iciness and on airport-operations personnel to diligently monitor conditions.
Despite Tuesday’s bone-chilling temperatures, airport operations ran close to optimal, with minimal delays as planes were de-iced before takeoff.
DIA helps to manage the de-icing process. However, the work is physically handled by airline contractors. DIA has 116 de-icing trucks, run by five providers that operate in a total of 31 de-icing locations on the tarmac.
The de-icing process took about 16 minutes per plane Tuesday, according to the airport — an especially impressive minimum, considering about 1,600 flights took off from DIA.
In May 2012, the airport received a $431,600 grant from the state Department of Transportation to develop and implement a system to manage the de-icing wait process.
The Virtual De-icing Queue Manager, which went online in October, works in concert with an existing airport system that monitors the whereabouts of all planes on the tarmac.
The new system keeps planes at the gate about 2.6 minutes longer for a turn under the de-icers.
Big deal, right? But consider this: That extra 2.6 minutes at the gate saves about $88,202 in fuel costs every day that de-icing procedures are in effect.
“Instead of a plane leaving the gate when they’re ready to go, and then sitting on tarmac burning fuel, now they can stay at the gate,” DIA spokesman Heath Montgomery said. “This means about $5.8 million fuel savings a year for the airlines.”
Previously, if a plane was not able to take off within the allotted post-de-icing time window, it would need to run through the entire process again, wasting time, fuel and de-icing fluid — and grating on already-frustrated passengers.
Regional Transportation District buses and light rail were mostly running on time Tuesday, spokeswoman Pauletta Tonilas said.
That was mostly because of preparedness.
“Our operators on the first shifts leave early to get a jump on extra travel time,” she said. “We plan ahead — buses are going to be in the same situation as cars, and if the roads are difficult, it’s going to take our buses longer to get from Point A to Point B.”
And don’t be afraid if you see the light rail running all night with no one aboard.
It’s not a ghost train.
“Ice can form on overhead electrical lines, so we keep the trains running overnight, just enough to keep those lines clean,” Tonilas said.
When passengers are around, steps up into the light-rail trains are heated to avoid slips, and train doors remain closed at stops until a passenger pushes the button to open them.
Bus drivers have to find a balance between giving passengers enough time to board and freezing behind the wheel.
“They open and close the doors as quickly as they can while giving people ample time,” Tonilas said. “It’s literally a matter of seconds, but without question, part of training is how to dress when it’s really cold out.”
While these workers sit in heated vehicles, there are many others who are out in the elements — plumbers, electricians, baggage handlers — who must take extra precautions.
Layers of appropriate clothing, covering all exposed skin and knowing when to take breaks are all key to safety in frigid temperatures, said Michelle Glasgow, a Fort Collins-based family physician with Kaiser Permanente.
These precautions are especially important for people laboring outdoors, Glasgow said.
She said workers doing heavy lifting in the chill need to heed the body’s warning signs: If something hurts from the cold or if clothes get damp from sweat, it’s time to take a break, seek shelter and get warm.
And, she said, it’s on all of us to have patience. For example, your luggage may be delayed because an airport ramp worker may need a break.
“We’re not out there in the cold. They are,” Glasgow said. “Give these people a break. They need to get warm.”
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