Alaska Canada MultiState Regional Demonstration

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Clarus Initiative
Alaska Canada Multi-State Regional
Demonstration Concept of Operations
Alaska Department of Transportation and Public
Facilities Jack Stickel
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Project Team
Alaska Department of Transportation and Public
Facilities
National Weather Service Alaska Division
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Project Team
Alberta Infrastructure and Transportation
British Columbia Ministry of Transportation
Yukon Department of Highways and Public Works
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Objectives
Cover the Alaska Canada Highway and major
access roads in Alaska, Alberta, British
Columbia, and Yukon Territory that have ESS data
available to the Clarus System
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Objectives

• Fully incorporate Clarus-enabled surface weather
  information into surface transportation
  operations using
• Information products
• Services tools
• Decision support mechanisms

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Targeted Specialties

• Concept of Operations will look at specialized
  weather transportation issues
• Seasonal weight restrictions
• Avalanche and mud slides
• National Weather Service Support
• Weather watch/warning program
• Flood forecasting

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Operational Scenarios

• Employs two operational scenarios to articulate
  the envisioned system
• Roadway Maintenance and Construction Operations
• Traveler Information

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Target Services

• Scenarios will target six core services
• Commercial vehicle operations
• Multi-modal connections
• Internal agency operations
• Traveler safety
• Traveler communications
• Snow and ice control

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Targeted Initiatives

• Concept of Operations Scenarios look at key
  regional initiatives
• Resource Development
• Oil and Gas
• Gas pipeline
• Tourism

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Targeted Initiatives Resource Development
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Targeted Initiatives - Oil and Gas

• North Slope 15 million barrels of oil so far.
  USGS estimates 4 billion barrels technically
  recoverable
• OM for major oil recovery on North Slope and NW
  Canada
• Alaska Highway and connecting routes are major
  re-supply routes

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Targeted Initiatives - Gas Pipeline
Alaskas North Slope has more than 35 trillion
cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves and
more than 100 trillion cubic feet of potential
reserves. Will cost an estimated 14 billion
2007 dollars to develop.
http//www.gov.state.ak.us/gasline/
Alaska Gas Transmission Company, http//www.ciri.c
om/news/AGTC.pdf
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Targeted Initiatives Tourism

• Traveler communication and safety

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Maintenance/Construction Operations

• Proactive avalanche forecasting control
• Snow and ice control
• Internal agency operations
• Allocation of winter maintenance resources
• Cross-jurisdictional information exchange
• Non-winter operations
• Proactive chemical application
• Improved environment management, including flood
  and mud slide mitigation
• Better targeted research

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Maintenance Operations
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Traveler Information

• Traveler communication and safety
• Multi-model connection information
• Traffic operations centers
• Commercial vehicle operations
• Improved environment conditions management
  snowfall, snow cover, avalanche potential
• Park management outdoor recreational users and
  forestry
• Value-added forecast providers

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Traveler Information

• Multi-model terminal weather information

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Traveler Information

• Improved environmental condition management

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Traveler Information

• Park management
• recreational facilities

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Leverages Existing Networks

• ADOTPF RWIS http//roadweather.alaska.gov
• ADOTPF 511 http//511.alaska.gov
• FAA Weather Cams http//akweathercams.faa.gov
• National Weather Service http//www.arh.noaa.gov
• Alberta Travel Information
• http//www.ama.ab.ca/cps/rde/xchg/ama/web/everyth
  ing_auto_AMA-Road-Reports.htm

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Leverages Aurora Research Programs

• Ingest Clarus System subscription output into two
  Aurora RWIS Pooled Fund projects
• RWIS Equipment Monitoring System
• RWIS GUI Quality Assurance Monitoring System

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Stakeholder Outreach

• Targeted surveys to eight user groups
• Tailored SurveyMonkey questionnaires
• Linked from agencies road weather or traveler
  information web site
• 1-2 months, intermittent summaries
• Follow-up one on one interviews

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Stakeholder Classification Groups

• Transportation Agency Decision-makers
• Maintenance
• Construction
• IT
• TOC/TMC
• Avalanche Control

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Stakeholder Classification Groups

• Weather Service Providers
• Public weather services
• Surface transportation weather providers
• Other commercial services
• Broadcast/print media
• Travelers
• Public
• Commercial Vehicle Operations

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Stakeholder Classification Groups

• Non-transportation Agency Decision-makers
• Public Safety
• Emergency Management
• Non-surface Transportation Weather Consumers
• General public
• Educational facilities
• Agriculture
• Energy
• Recreation / travel/ hotel industry

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Stakeholder Classification Groups

• Research Community
• Federal agencies
• State agencies
• University (i.e., ITS/transportation centers)
• Private sector

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Stakeholder Outreach
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RWIS Web Site

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RWIS Web Site

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Project Status

• Contract with partner Meridian Environmental
  Technology, Inc
• Kickoff meeting July 2007
• Project web site
• http//clarus.meridian-enviro.com/alcan/
• Listserve
• Bibliography
• Stakeholder outreach SurveyMonkey questionnaires
  prototype

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Project Status

• Agency and FHWA agreement on data dissemination
  Project Management Plan
• Complete first generation metadata for the four
  transportation agencies
• Data ingest processes set up for the Clarus
  System Alaska operational

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Why You Should Join In

• Metadata promotes standards for both
  operational and informational applications
• Quality Checking real-time checks to address
  system performance and sensor reliability
• Cross-jurisdictional data sharing value added
  traveler information and forecast products
• Agency Integration build your weather program
  into agency operations and regional ITS
  architecture

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Why You Should Join In

• Refined and new quality checking algorithms get
  a place at the table
• Climate range extremes established alerts
  when new extremes met
• Aurora research projects to integrate with Clarus
  System output
• Multi-modal connection
• Power of multi-state/province queries

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National Rural ITS Conference
2 5, September 2008
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• Rural Native American transportation issues
  snow machines, ATVs, air quality
• Weather impacts and solutions for rural
  transportation
• Enabling technologies to meet rural
  transportation challenges
• Rural transportation solutions, including
  traveler information, emergency response,
  incident management, commercial vehicles
• ITS planning and deployment

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Jack Stickel jack.stickel_at_alaska.gov 907-465-6998
Coho (silver ) salmon 18.5 lbs 16 Sept 2007