An Update on FHWA Road Weather Management Initiatives

1. An Update onFHWA Road Weather ManagementInitiatives Session 5A: Advances & Applications in Transportation Weather Paul Pisano Federal Highway Administration Tuesday, 13 January 2009

2. Overview • Road Weather Management • The Road Weather Problem • Congressional direction • U.S. DOT Initiatives • The Clarus Initiative • Mobile Sensing • Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) • Weather-responsive Traffic Management • Training & Outreach • Contact Information

3. The Road Weather Problem • Safety • 1.57± million weather-related crashes/year • 7,400 fatalities; 690,000 injuries • 24% of all crashes occurred on slick pavement or under adverse weather • Mobility: Cost of congestion is $9.45 billion/yr for the 85 major urban areas (causes ~25% of non-recurrent delay on freeways) • Productivity: Weather-related delay adds $3.4 billion to freight costs annually • Environment: Chemicals effect watersheds, air quality and infrastructure

4. Congressional Direction – 5308 • Establish a Road Weather R&D program: • Follow NRC report, Where the Weather Meets the Road • Promote Technology Transfer • Expand Research & Development • Multi-disciplinary stakeholder input: • Natl. Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) • National Science Foundation • AASHTO • Private sector • Non-profit organizations • Funding: $5 million/yr for 4 years

5. Clarus Participation Status

6. Clarus Regional Demonstration5 Use Case Scenarios • Enhanced Road Weather Forecasting Enabled by Clarus • Seasonal Weight Restriction Decision Support Tool • Non-winter Maintenance & Operations Decision Support Tool • Multi-state Control Strategy Tool • Enhanced Road Weather Content for Traveler Advisories State Transportation Agency Partners

7. Mobile Sensing Probe Data Captured during 2008 Proof of Concept Demonstration

8. Weather Data Translator • WDT processes • Collect vehicle-based probe data • Quality check & remove biases or outliers • Integrate with supplemental data • Create road segment based observations of weather & pavement conditions

9. Warning! Watch! Advisory! Overwhelming Information! A 50% Chance of What???

10. MDSS: Overview

11. MDSS Benefits & Costs • City/County of Denver • Total direct savings realized: $165,000+ for one event • Illinois DOT found during one storm • Total direct savings realized: $92,000+ for one event • Western Transportation Institute found an 8:1 Benefit/Cost ratio in New Hampshire, Colorado & Minnesota

12. Wx-Responsive Traffic Management Advisory Control Treatment Variable Speed Limit Sign Access Control Fog Dispersal System Variable Message Sign Highway Contraflow Operations Anti-Ice/Deicing Spray Systems

13. Integrating Road Weather Into TMCs Using the new Self-Evaluation & Planning Guide: • TMC team evaluates their needs and opportunities for enhanced weather integration • Identify weather conditions • Understand weather impacts • Identify TMC needs for weather information • The software sorts through the information provided by the TMC and identifies potential integration strategies • The team then develops a practical plan to implement those integration strategies

14. Training & Outreach • COMET’s “Weather and Road Management” Course: • www.meted.ucar.edu/dot/ • NWS Road Weather Course: • www.wdtb.noaa.gov/courses/RoadWeather/ • Principles & Tools for Road Weather Management Web-based Course: • www.citeconsortium.org • MDSS Deployment Guide • www.its.dot.gov/library.htm (EDL# 14439) • Send request to WeatherFeedback@dot.gov

15. Contact Information Paul Pisano Team Leader, Road Weather Management Paul.Pisano@dot.gov, 202-366-1301 Helpful Links: • FHWA Road Weather Management • www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/index.asp • Clarus Initiative Site • www.clarusinitiative.org • Clarus Web Portal • www.clarus-system.com • MDSS Project • www.rap.ucar.edu/projects/rdwx_mdss/