APPENDIX A

Baseline Conditions Report

May 20, 2005

The Baseline Conditions Report was the first of two reports completed under this study of integration.  It provides the background and context for the Final Report and offers a wealth of data collected from TMCs that are implementing integration strategies across the country.  While key information from the Baseline Conditions Report is replicated in this Final Report, the detailed results of the site screening interviews and the site visit reports are provided in this earlier document only.  These detailed data and findings are expected to be of interest to researchers and practitioners who would like to know more about how individual TMCs are dealing with the integration of weather and emergency elements in their daily operations.

A copy of the Baseline Conditions Report may be obtained at no cost by submitting an e-mail request from the Federal Highway Administration at:

Weatherfeedback@fhwa.dot.gov.

Glossary of Terms

Acknowledgments

The TMC Integration study team included Chris Cluett (Battelle), Project Manager, Dwight Shank (Iteris), Task Leader for emergency integration, Fred Kitchener (McFarland Management), Task Leader for weather integration, Moe Zarean, Jim Barbaresso, and Steve Conger of Iteris, Bayne Smith of URS, and Leon Osborne of Meridian Environmental Technology.

The authors gratefully acknowledge the dedication and support provided to this project by many staff members of the U.S. DOT.  Vince Pearce was the FHWA manager responsible for the emergency component of this study, and Paul Pisano was the FHWA manager responsible for the weather component.

The involvement of representatives of numerous State DOTs and TMCs across the country was invaluable.  This project could not have been undertaken without the support of these officials who participated in 38 lengthy site screening calls and met with team members during 10 TMC site visits.  In addition, representatives of four of these TMCs attended a workshop held in Washington, DC.  The TMCs visited were among the best integrated facilities in the country, and their staff contributed significant time and effort in support of this project.  In addition to the TMC operators who participated in the workshop, representatives of FHWA, NOAA, and Mitretek also attended.  All added significantly to a more comprehensive understanding of the role of integration of weather and emergency information and services in TMC operations.

[1] Federal Highway Administration, Office of Operations.  2004.  Facilitating Intelligent Transportation Systems Deployment.  USDOT web site: http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/

[2] The baseline document is attached for reference purposes.  This final report presents and updates the concepts and methods information contained in the Appendix.

[3] Federal Highway Administration, Office of Operations.  2004.  Concept of Operations for Emergency Transportation Operations.  Prepared by Science Applications International Corporation.  (January 9).

[4] Federal Highway Administration, Office of Operations.  2004.  Vision 2010: Enhanced National Capabilities for Emergency Transportation Operations.  Prepared by Science Applications International Corporation.  (January 9).

[5] Federal Highway Administration.  2003.  Weather-Responsive Traffic Management: Concept of Operations.  Draft report prepared by Cambridge Systematics, Inc.  (January 10).

[6] National Research Council of the National Academies, Committee on Weather Research for Surface Transportation: The Roadway Environment.  2004.  Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services.  Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.

[7] Federal Highway Administration.  2005.  Clarus: Draft Concept of Operations.  Report prepared by Iteris, Inc. and Meridian Environmental Technology, Inc.  February 18.

[8] Department of Homeland Security.  2004.  National Response Plan – Transportation Annex.  (December).

[9] Federal Highway Administration. 2003. Weather-Responsive Traffic Management: Concept of Operations. Draft report prepared by Cambridge Systematics, Inc. (January 10).

[10] Meridian Environmental Technology, Inc. 2004. Weather Information in the National ITS Architecture Version 5.0. (August). Pp. 58.

[11] National Research Council of the National Academies, Committee on Weather Research for Surface Transportation: The Roadway Environment.  2004.  Chapter 5 in Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services.  Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.

Publication No. FHWA-HOP-06-090, EDL Number 14247, February 2006
US Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
400 Seventh St., SW, Washington, DC 20590
http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/Weather/index.asp