Collaboration Across the Road Weather Enterprise: The Pathfinder Project

CHAPTER 8. NEXT STEPS

The Pathfinder project has realized improved communication throughout various seasons and helped develop a better understanding of the needs and goals of State Departments of Transportation and the weather enterprise. It has helped build and maintain a solid foundation between agencies and increased interagency training. Based on the experiences of the Pathfinder project, continued improvement now looks toward the next steps, which may include the following:

• Maintaining year-long collaboration.
• Expanding collaborative efforts and messaging during the warm season.
• Sharing more information (traffic data, connected vehicle data, etc.).
• Improving message timing (dynamic message signs and others).
• Holding formal after-event reviews.
• Gaining a better understanding of how various travelers receive and use weather information (i.e., truckers vs. general public).
• Expanding communication channels to adjacent States.

To learn more about the Pathfinder project and other efforts regarding road weather management, please visit the Road Weather Management Program's homepage at https://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/.