WisDOT planting more shrubs for living snow fences; stops drifting, reduces plowing costs

Natural snow fence planted by the WisDOT in 2023 has matured to help prevent snow from drifting onto I-43 in Manitowoc County. PC: Fox 11 Online

(WTAQ-WLUK) — Construction season is well underway in Northeast Wisconsin, and while the state Department of Transportation’s main focus is roads, work they’re doing along the shoulder is making a big difference, too.

It was three years ago, during a $24 million interstate improvement project, crews planted more than 25,000 shrubs along a five-mile stretch of highway. What started out as 18 to 24-inch stems have now grown into 6 to 7-foot shrubs.

“The shrubs that we planted three years ago, it has grown up. It’s got lots of stems. Acts like a natural living snow fence. And as the snow comes through it, it slows down. It’s able to drift off the road and in the ditches and keep it off the road, so we don’t have to plow it off the road,” said WisDOT Project Manager Brian Haen.

While this natural snow fence was planted to keep snow from drifting, its benefits go far beyond the weather.

Haen said, “It looks nice and it also helps out with the bees, pollinators, and it’s something [that provides] a little natural cost savings.”

The 2023 planting project along I-43 cost about $700,000. It’s a large expense when you’re planting tens of thousands of plants. Haen said at the time, studies showed it’s 100 times cheaper to plant trees than it is to plow snow. He said that stands true today.

“It’s a small thing to help out. I mean, it saves on plow time, it saves on gas, it saves on salt, it saves on accidents. It’s safety too,” said Haen.

This snow fencing has been so effective, it continues to be installed as part of road improvement projects. This year, as more than 10 miles of U.S. 41 in Oconto County are repaved, several miles of road front will also be planted with shrubs to create even more natural snow fencing in the region. Additionally, there are already plans to add more fencing in the southern part of Manitowoc County during a scheduled 2030 road construction project.