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The FHWA Road Weather Management Program
Background, Achievements and Prospects for
Integrated Road-Weather Management
To the National Symposium on Mitigating Severe
Weather Impacts Tulsa, OK April 3, 2001
Gary G. Nelson Mitretek Systems
Inc. gnelson_at_mitretek.org 202 488 5718
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On behalf of...
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)
Operations Core Business Unit Christine Johnson
ITS Joint Program Office Jeff Paniati
Office of Transportation Operations Shelley Row
Highway Research Gary Larsen
Many other Public and Private Agencies
Road Weather Management Program Paul Pisano
Highway Research--Operations Rudy Persaud
Road Weather Program
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Topics

• A surface transportation approach to severe (and
  not so severe) weather threats
• Some achievements since 1997
• Prospects and gaps in
• Research
• Planning
• Coordination
• Deployment
• Funding

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On any day of the yearon every roadweather
affects operations
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• There has to be an operational continuum from the
  mundane to the severe.

• Our physical infrastructure may not survive the
  most severe threats.

• Our information systems should survive the most
  severe threats.

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Infrastructure Damage
Means disruption of evacuations and emergency
response.
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Everyone talks about the Weather, but...
Transportation Impact
Decision Support
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Surface Transportation Weather Decision Support
Requirements (STWDSR)
Operational Techniques
National Highway System Infostructure
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What is the ITS?

• The application of information systems to
  achieve the goals of surface transportation.
• The processes and data defined by the National
  ITS Architecture
• An infostructure to monitor the state of the
  surface transportation system.
• An open system to facilitate decision support
  applications and coordination.

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(No Transcript)
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Maintenance Decision Support System
(MDSS) Prototype Development and Operational Test
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Prospects and Gaps
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Program Prospects

• Road Weather Management
• development tracks for traffic/emergency
  management
• further programs with meteorological agencies,
  incl. common observational assimilation
• Operations Business Unit
• operational test for hurricane disaster
  management coordination
• operational test for traffic management under
  weather threats

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Prospects, concluded

• ITS as part of the environmental surveillance
  infrastructure
• NHS Infostructure
• Fixed and mobile environmental sensing
• Differential GPS/integrated water vapor
• ITS Architecturegt environmental information
• ITS as severe weather info dissemination tool
• National 511 information number
• Various pre-trip and en route information
  services (DSRC, HAR, DMS, Internet services)

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The Gaps
The Transportation Community
The Geophysical Community
The Federal Level
The Local Level
The Public Sector
The Private Sector
Planning
Deployment
Transportation Management
Traveler Behavior
Current Funding
Needed Funding
What we know
What we need to know about ITS and
other benefits
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Funding Gaps
Surface Transportation
Aviation

• FAA staff on weather requirements 50
• National aviation weather research budget
  gt20M/yr.
• Joint deployments billions

• National staff on road weather 4
• National budget 2M/yr.
• Local public deployments Millions/yr.

At risk
GDP in surface transportation 600B/yr.
GDP in air transportation 100B/yr.
300 fatal crashes/yr
37,000 fatal crashes/yr
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A Funding Initiative

• Transportation-Weather Applications for National
  Deployment (T-WAND)
• fair share 20M/yr. (?) aimed at surface
  transportation re-authorization in 2004
• ITS-America/Weather Information Applications
  Task Force proposal (special session at ITS
  America Conference, June 5, Miami Beach)
• Local agencies can use federal aid transportation
  funds.
• Local agencies can use the ITS Discretionary
  Deployment grants Deployment Projects
• (TEA-21, Sec. 5208, 120 M for FY 02)

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What could all this do for severe weather
mitigation?

• Direct mitigation of crashes 10 of 6,000 fatal
  and 400,000 injury crashes/year in adverse
  weather?
• Direct mitigation of transportation damage
  costs 10 of 5 billion per year?
• Direct reduction of transportation treatment
  costs 10 of 2 billion/year?
• A further contribution to fine-scale surface
  weather observation and prediction.
• Improving operations of surface transportation
  under severe weather as fundamental to all
  response/mitigation strategies.

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For Further Information...

• Documents
• Road Weather Program Website

www.its.dot.gov/welcome.htm
www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/weather/

• Contact gnelson_at_mitretek.org paul.pisano_at_fhwa.do
  t.gov