Road Weather Management Program
photos of lightning, trucks plowing snow, an empty road before a storm, and an evacuation
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Best Practices for Road Weather Management Version 2.0

Title:

Performance Based Winter Maintenance Operations Decision Making

Abstract:

The first section of this paper briefly outlines the nexus of the basic research in the Strategic Highway Research Program, which provided the foundational approach for introducing advanced road weather information equipment and data into the winter maintenance operations process and document the successful implementation of the technology. It also examines the education and training processes used to change a workforce culture from a reactive winter maintenance response to a proactive/systematic approach that has raised level of service, reduced cost, and lessened the negative impact to the environment. Performance indicators will be illustrated and training investments quantified and explained. The second section of the paper discusses progress being made in field testing of a maintenance decision support system which utilizes computer applications of treatment strategy algorithms to assist operation decision makers in optimizing treatment solutions. Rapid computer iterations assist the decision maker faced with quick developing or changing winter storms. The third section of the paper explores Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) application opportunities for informing motorists of current and forecasted road-weather conditions. Current usage will be documented as well as how the information will likely assist motorists within the next few years with their trip making decisions to improve both mobility and safety.

Source(s):

2004 Annual Conference of the Transportation Association of Canada, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials

https://trid.trb.org/view/768343

Date: 2004

Author:

Smithson

Keywords:


Winter maintenance
Institutional issues
Decision support
Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS)

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