1 ROAD WEATHER MANAGEMENT Paul Pisano Team Leader, Road Weather Management Federal Highway Administration Washington, DC June 13, 2006 Contact:

2 Safety –Approx 1.57 million weather-related crashes/year 7,300 fatalities; 690,000 injuries –24% of all crashes occurred on slick pavement or under adverse weather Mobility –About 25% of non-recurrent delays on freeways is due to weather; system delay is 1 billion hrs/yr. Productivity –Weather-related delay adds $3.4 billion to freight costs annually Environment –Chemical anti-icing and deicing materials effect watersheds, air quality and infrastructure Weather and Highway Operations

3 Adverse Road Weather – National Toll

4 Institutional Change Customer focused Performance based Systems, not jurisdictions Real-time information Proactive 24/7 Technical Advancement Information Gathering Information Sharing System Mgmt. & Control Vehicle-based Vehicle-to-Vehicle Vehicle-to-Roadside-to- Home Based Electronic Payment 21 st Century Operations Transportation Operations

5 21 st Century Operations Under All Weather Conditions FHWA is providing leadership and direction: –Institutional Change Bridge transportation and meteorological communities Build markets –Technical Advancement Develop integrated solutions Leverage resources Developing solutions that alleviate the effects of adverse weather on the transportation system

6 SAFETEA-LU, Section 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: –NOAA –NSF –AASHTO –Private sector –Non-profit orgs. Funding: $5m/yr for 4 years

7 Solutions to challenges are approached through four objectives: 1. Stakeholder Coordination 2. Applied Research 3. Technology Transfer, Training & Education 4. Performance Management & Evaluation FHWA Road Weather Mgmt Program

8 Bring a multi-disciplinary approach to the road weather challenges, developing strong partnerships with the public & private sectors of the transportation and weather communities. Build formal partnerships with weather industry –Funded BASC study –FHWA/NOAA Memorandum of Understanding – July, 2005 –OFCM Working Groups –AMS ITS/Surface Transportation Committee Elevate the profile of weather within the transportation community –Established the TRB Task Force on weather –AASHTO Strengthen international links (e.g., PIARC) Objective 1: Stakeholder Coordination

9 Integrate weather advancements (e.g., high resolution surface weather modeling) with advanced transportation solutions to develop and demonstrate innovative tools and technologies. Road weather observing systems –Clarus initiative Decision support tools –Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) Weather-responsive traffic management Objective 2: Applied Research

10 Advance the state of the practice by raising Road Weather Management capabilities across the transportation industry. Develop training & outreach material –NHI Course – “Principles and Tools for Road Weather Mgmt.” –ITE Professional Development CD –AASHTO Anti-icing/RWIS computer-based training –“Road Risk” DVD with The Weather Channel Promote market-ready technologies (MDSS) Ease access to Road Weather Management resources Target conferences –AASHTO/FHWA Eastern Snow Expo –ITS America “Weather Alley” –AMS Annual Meeting Objective 3: T2, Training & Education

11 Develop performance measures that can be used to evaluate and compare alternative road weather management strategies. Identify performance measures for Road Weather Management (with NOAA) Develop winter maintenance performance standards (NCHRP 6-17) Develop benefit-cost analysis procedures for Road Weather Management tools Conduct b/c analyses (e.g., MDSS) ITS deployment studies Objective 4: Performance Management

12 Maintenance Decision Support System The Clarus Initiative Weather-responsive Traffic Management New projects Program Highlights

13 MDSS is a winter maintenance decision-support system that combines: Advanced weather prediction Advanced road condition prediction Rules of practice for anti-icing and de-icing The system generates winter treatment recommendations on a route-by-route basis. Maintenance Decision Support System

14 Maintenance Decision Support System

15 MDSS Treatment Selector

16 States Involved in MDSS

17 Clarus is a system that assimilates, quality checks, and disseminates the nation’s road weather observations Initiative Objectives: –Design, develop and demonstrate these capabilities –Work with our public and private partners to develop and evaluate the value-added road weather information products that Clarus enables –Establish partnerships to move from demonstration to deployment of a nationwide network The Clarus Initiative

18 Environmental Sensor Stations (ESS) An ESS is any site with sensors measuring atmospheric conditions, pavement conditions, and/or water level conditions Alaska Hawaii 1 D.C National Total 2,336 6 ESS in RWIS 1,815

19 Route Specific Radio & TV Broadcasts of Travel Conditions More Effective Websites Credible & Precise Travel Advice Add Detail to HAR & VMS Spawn New Technologies (PDA, cell) Clarus Enhanced decision making tools In-vehicle Information Clarus – Unlimited Possibilities

20 Clarus Roadmap Stakeholder Coordination System Design FY04FY05FY06FY07FY08FY09 Multi-State Regional Demonstration Final Design, Model Deployment Track 2 Track 3 Track 1

21 Integration of Weather into Traffic Management/Operations Center Empirical Studies on Weather and Traffic Weather Response System for Transportation NGSIM Traffic Simulation Models Wx-Responsive Traffic Management

22 Five levels of integration were analyzed –Operational, physical, technical, procedural, institutional 9 TMC’s/TOC’s were evaluated Summary of Practices –Most centers respond to traffic, not weather –Info from Weather Channel and ESS –Weather info used mainly for advisory purposes –MD and UT centers highly integrated Final Report includes several recommendations TMC Weather Integration Study

23 Goal: To understand relationship between weather and traffic flow Completed review of existing data and studies –Impact of rain and snow moderately studied –Little research on visibility, wind and other events –Mostly macroscopic analysis Conducting Data Collection and Analysis –Investigate regional differences, variable facilities –Transition from free flow to congested flow –Visibility impacts Future steps: –Human factors data collection and analysis –Incorporate new knowledge in existing models Empirical Studies on Wx and Traffic

24 Goal: Utilize existing weather data to support transportation operations Prototype Development in Missouri DOT Weather Response System

25 Implementation and evaluation of the ESS Siting Guidelines Develop a Needs Assessment Guide for integrating weather in TMC operations Develop performance metrics for Road Weather Management MDSS Cost-Benefit Analysis (w/S. Dakota) Defining requirements for other types of weather-related decision making New Projects

26 We are in the midst of a culture change in surface transportation weather and operations –Creating demand for integrated solutions –Leveraging public sector resources to build markets and improve private sector services –Engaging stakeholders and building partnerships Developing and applying the right tools and technologies will help transportation agencies make the right decisions. Conclusion