Better Weather and Pavement Information Mean Faster Storm Cleanup
A new network of weather and pavement sensors is improving snow and ice control on highways in Illinois.
The Challenge
Winter hits Illinois hard every year, creating treacherous driving conditions on 72,000 km (45,000 mi) of State highways, Interstate highways, and expressways. Dealing with the results of winter weather costs the Illinois Department of Transportation (DOT) $25 million to $30 million a year for snow removal alone, says the DOT's Dennis File.
Illinois looked for a way to optimize its response to winter storms. "We look for every opportunity to improve operations wherever we can," File says. One solution was a road weather information system (RWIS), a technology evaluated under the Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP). Sensors in the RWIS units constantly monitor precipitation, temperature, and other weather conditions, as well as the temperature and condition of pavement.
Putting the Technology to the Test
Illinois began installing RWIS stations in 1993, starting with the Chicago metropolitan area and the rural region to its west. This gave DOT staff data on conditions in the State's biggest city and on weather patterns moving toward Chicago from the west. Since then, Illinois DOT has expanded the RWIS network to 51 stations in the northern two-thirds of the State. The stations are placed approximately 100 km (60 mi) apart to get a complete picture of the weather and to collect information from critical locations, such as bridges, which often ice up before pavements do. The crew chiefs for salt and plow trucks use data from the RWIS stations to decide when and where to send the crews and equipment to keep the roads safe for travel.
"Our goal for the RWIS," says File, "is to improve both the services we provide to the public and our ability to manage our operations in response to winter storms." Using data from the RWIS stations, winter maintenance crews can both use their resources as efficiently as possible and keep roads safe.
Illinois DOT also provides Interstate road condition information via a toll-free telephone number (1-800-452-IDOT). The highway agency is also experimenting with providing weather information at special computer terminals now set up at four rest areas on Interstate highways-an idea that has proven extremely popular. "People ask me, 'why don't all rest areas have this?'" File says. "The feedback has been 100 percent positive."
Eventually, the RWIS should reduce Illinois DOT's costs for winter maintenance operations. Says File, "I think with this system we will have the information to use salt with more discretion, and as we get more experience we may even decide we do not have to salt at a particular time or perhaps plow a certain stretch of road based on what we know about current and expected conditions."
Illinois DOT is committed to putting data from RWIS stations and other weather systems to the widest possible use. "The name of the game is distribution of information to decision makers, not just the collection of information," says File.
Maintenance engineers can access RWIS data 24 hours a day from laptop computers and terminals at field offices. Illinois DOT also sends its RWIS data to local highway agencies, and is developing data-sharing arrangements with other public services. The DOT also exchanges information with the highway agencies in Iowa and other neighboring states. These and other applications of RWIS data help Illinois DOT and other agencies improve highway safety and the quality of the services they provide.
The RWIS has become an integral part of Illinois DOT's three-tiered system for staying on top of winter weather. Says File, "By integrating professional weather forecasts, color weather radar, and RWIS, we have a comprehensive assessment of the weather, going from the broad global view to the specific on what and where precipitation is and how fast it's coming."
The Benefits
Illinois DOT says the RWIS
- Helps it respond at the right time, at the right place, and with the right reaction.
- Improves highway safety through more efficient plowing and anti-icing operations and improved information on driving conditions.
- Allows the agency to use salt and other materials more wisely.
- Helps local highway agencies and other public services function during bad weather.
