Review of Studded Tires in Oregon

This study provides an update to the previous studded tire study for Oregon completed in 2000. The focus of this research was to quantify current use of studded tires and the wear and cost caused by that use. Some results include a decline in studded tire use from about 16 percent of registered vehicles in 1995 to about 4 percent in the 2013-14 winter season. A wear rate for Portland cement concrete (PCC) of about 0.0091 inches per 100,000 studded tire passes, while the wear rate of asphalt pavement is about 0.0295 inches per 100,000 studded tire passes. Three different cost categories of studded tire damage mitigation were identified. The three scenarios are included in this study, but the base case scenario for these estimates predicts an annual average expenditure of about $4 million from the year 2012 up to the year 2022. These estimates are only for the State Highway System and exclusive of any amounts to be spent by the cities and counties on their road systems.