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Best Practices for Road Weather Management Version 2.0

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Title:

Analysis of Road Weather Information System Users in California and Montana

Abstract:

A road weather information system (RWIS)?a network of weather stations, forecasting services, and the supporting infrastructure?has been used widely in the United States and Canada since the late 1980s. Through separate projects with Montana Department of Transportation (DOT) and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), Western Transportation Institute (WTI) collected information from road weather information users through surveys and interviews. Montana DOT's survey, completed in September 2000, received responses from 89 Montana DOT maintenance personnel. WTI conducted the Caltrans study in January 2002, and received responses from maintenance and traffic operations staff representing 11 of the 12 districts. Although not identical, the surveys included questions in similar categories, including training; current use, methods, and data; station siting; and accuracy. For the new analysis, WTI will once again interview representatives from state DOTs concerning changes made to the states' RWISs since the survey and their possible effect on future survey response. WTI will then compile and summarize the states' operations and structures, highlighting any changes made following the original surveys. RWIS use will be compared with that of other states contacted through the interview process. The objective of this analysis is to identify trends or improvements that are applicable on the national level. This information will be of interest and benefit to transportation officials wishing to gain a better understanding of the users' perspective on RWIS, identify areas of improvement for a state's RWIS system, and learn about applicable experiences from other states.

Source(s):

6th International Symposium on Snow Removal and Ice Control Technology, Transportation Research Circular, No. E-C063

http://trb.org/publications/circulars/ec063.pdf

Date: 2004

Author:

Ballard

Keywords:


Weather information
Institutional issues
Observing network

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