Integrating Surface Transportation Weather Information Systems - The DOT Role

Transportation Research Board 85th Annual MeetingSession 494: SAFETEA-LU Road Weather Research and Development Program

January 24, 2006

Jeffery F. PaniatiAssociate Administrator

Office of OperationsFederal Highway Administration

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Presentation Overview

• Importance of road weather management in achieving 21st century operations.

• Progress to date.

• Future direction--SAFETEA-LU section 5308.

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Basic Premise…

Build, maintain, and operate a transportation system that is safe, reliable, and secure.

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Current Reality…

BUILD, maintain, and operate a transportation system that is safe, reliable, and secure.

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• Safety– 24% of all crashes occurred on slick pavement or

under adverse weather.

• Mobility– Travel delay can increase by 11% to 50%, depending on weather severity.

• Productivity– Weather-related delay can add $3.4 billion to freight costs annually.

The Effects of Weather on Our Roads

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Achieving 21st Century Operations

InstitutionalChange

– Customer focused– Performance based– Systems, not jurisdictions– Real-time information– Proactive– 24/7

Technical Advancement

– Information gathering – Information sharing – System mgmt. & control – Vehicle-based – Vehicle-to-vehicle – Vehicle-to-roadside-to-

home base– Electronic payment

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Realizing the Vision

Institutional Change

Technical Advanceme

nt

21st Century

Operations

A Cultural Shift

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21st Century Operations Under All Weather Conditions

• FHWA is providing leadership and direction for:– Institutional Change

• Bridge transportation and meteorological communities• Build markets

– Technical Advancement• Develop integrated solutions

• Leverage resources

• Developing solutions that alleviate the effects of adverse weather on the transportation system.

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Progress to Date

• FHWA/NOAA Partnership

• The Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS)

• The Clarus Initiative

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FHWA/NOAA Partnership

• FHWA and NOAA have common strategic goals– Reducing the loss of lives on the surface transportation

system.

– Improving mobility to aid the free flow of commerce.

• Numerous examples of collaboration – A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in July 2005.

– FHWA and NOAA co-chair the Working Group on Weather Information for Surface Transportation.

– Cost-share on research and outreach projects.

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Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS)

• The MDSS is a winter maintenance decision support system that combines:– Advanced weather prediction – Advanced road condition prediction– Rules of practice for anti-icing and de-icing

• The system generates winter treatment recommendations on a route-by-route basis.

• MDSS is a prime example of an integrated solution, enabling maintenance managers to make better, more effective decisions on when and how to deploy resources and treat roads.

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High ResolutionMaps with Routes

Snow accumulationForecasts forRoutes

Blowing Snow and Bridge Frost Alerts

MDSS: Route Specific Forecasts

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The Clarus Initiative

• Clarus is a system that assimilates, quality checks, and disseminates the Nation’s road weather observations.

• Initiative Objectives:– Design, develop and demonstrate these capabilities.

– Work with our public and private partners to develop and evaluate the value-added road weather information products that Clarus enables.

– Establish partnerships to move from demonstration to deployment of a nationwide network.

ESS owned by State Transportation Agencies An Environmental Sensor Station (ESS) is any site with sensors measuring atmospheric conditions, pavement conditions, and/or water level conditions.

State DOT Investments in Environmental Sensor Stations (ESS)

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111

57

3957

83

120

9

87 31

86

44 39

5

11

33

154

26

61

72 61

43

20

158

2

82

24

40

81

71

60

41

6128

6

30

4

61

63

1

5

0

Alaska56

4

15

4

Hawaii1

D.C.6

34

5

National Total2,214

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Unlimited Possibilities!

Route Specific Radio & TV

Broadcasts of Travel Conditions

More Effective Websites

Credible & Precise Travel Advice

Add Detail to HAR & VMS

Spawn New Technologies

(in-vehicle, PDA)

Clarus

Enhanced decision making tools

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• Establish a Road Weather R&D program:– Follow NRC report “Where the Weather Meets the Road”– Promote technology transfer– Expand research and development

• Multi-disciplinary stakeholder input:– NOAA– AASHTO– National Science Foundation– Private sector– Non-profit organizations

• Funding: $5m/yr for 4 years

SAFETEA-LU – Section 5308

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Section 5308 – Road Weather R&D Program

• Affirms that we are on the right track.

• Enables us to do even more– Expand upon the success of MDSS.– Integrate Clarus and Vehicle Infrastructure

Integration (VII).– Build weather-responsive traffic management

tools.

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• Build upon the success of MDSS by expanding it to support other operations and maintenance decisionmaking.– Weather-responsive traffic management and

traveler information.– Maintenance and construction.

• Support the new market of MDSS services by documenting costs and benefits.

• Continued outreach, education, and technology transfer.

Expand MDSS

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• There is a strong link between Clarus and the Vehicle Infrastructure Integration Initiative (VII).

• The marriage of these two initiatives will:– Completely alter the road weather landscape– Spark new innovations in the private sector– Change the way that atmospheric scientists observe and

model the boundary layer

• Over the next four years, we will tap into the VII data stream, turning it into valuable road weather observations that can be utilized by the road weather community.

Integrate Clarus & VII

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Weather-responsive Traffic Management

• Traffic managers must be proactive.

• Integrated solutions pave the way.– Both transportation modeling and weather modeling are

improving in resolution, focusing on the mesoscale.– Merging mesoscale weather forecasts (e.g., a precipitation

forecast for the next 8 hours) with traffic models will enable a traffic manager to take action before the weather has a chance to take effect.

• Over the next four years we will explore such model integration as well as the development of better weather-responsive traffic management strategies.

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Conclusion

• Improved weather management is a key part of 21st century operations.

• The FHWA Weather Management program has established the institutional relationships and demonstrated the potential of technology.

• SAFETEA-LU Section 5308 will serve as a catalyst to change surface transportation weather and operations:– Providing the resources to develop integrated solutions– Creating demand for these solutions by building bridges between

the transportation and meteorological communities– Leveraging public sector resources to build markets and improve

private sector services

• These efforts will ultimately change the way that we make decisions, which will save lives, time, and money.