Vertical loading on aerial pathways includes which?

Study for the BICSI OSP Design Test. Prepare using multiple choice questions, with hints and explanations to enhance understanding. Succeed in your exam journey!

Vertical loading is the downward force on an aerial pathway caused by weight. Snow and ice add significant weight to the conductors and hardware, increasing the downward load that poles and anchors must resist. Wind gusts act mainly horizontally, solar heating affects tension through thermal expansion rather than adding weight, and rain contributes only a small amount of extra weight compared with ice, so snow and ice best represent vertical loading.