Weather Monitoring Stations Improve Maintenance Operations
The Montana Department of Transportation is using information from its new weather monitoring stations to improve scheduling of maintenance work and snow and ice control.
The Challenge
Anticipating and dealing with bad weather conditions is a problem for every highway maintenance operation. Public weather services can be helpful, but they don't provide much of the specific information that is most helpful to a Department of Transportation (DOT).
Developing a Strategy
The Montana DOT decided to meet the challenge head-on by installing a road weather information system (RWIS). This technology had been evaluated and enhanced under the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP).
Putting the Strategy to the Test
Installed in 1993, the Montana system consists of weather-monitoring stations located near Bozeman and Miles City and in Wolf Creek Canyon. The information is shared with the neighboring States of Idaho, Washington, and Wyoming, as well as Alberta, Canada.
Strategically placed RWIS stations provide forecasts that are 90 to 95 percent accurate. As more stations are added within Montana and surrounding States, the accuracy rate will get even better—perhaps even to 99 percent, according to industry analysts.
What They Learned
The RWIS forecasts have enabled Montana to schedule maintenance work more effectively and to be better prepared for inclement weather. Especially helpful is that crews can be dispatched quickly to those areas experiencing the brunt of a storm.
The accuracy of the forecasts permits the DOT to apply sand and anti-icing materials just prior to the pavement reaching freezing conditions. This helps prevent hazardous driving situations.
The RWIS forecasts have also been used successfully to schedule preventive maintenance treatments. "When initially applied, chip and seal projects are particularly susceptible to inclement weather," says James Stevenson, maintenance specialist for Montana DOT. "In one instance, a project manager asked for RWIS-generated weather information to assist a contractor in planning paving operations."
"The RWIS has definitely reduced labor and material costs," says Stevenson. "Worker productivity has increased because of less time wasted in wait-and-see modes. This greater efficiency of maintenance operations has also reduced energy requirements."
The Benefits
- The public benefits from faster response to weather-related emergencies.
- Maintenance activities can be better planned and executed.
- Labor, material, and energy costs are reduced.
- Road safety is enhanced.
- The RWIS can be equipped to perform other beneficial functions. A camera can be attached to provide real-time weather information. A laser device can measure visibility. The intensity and accumulation rate of snow can be measured. And the station can activate changeable message signs to warn drivers of snow, high winds, and other hazardous conditions.
