Road Weather Management: Past, Present, and Future

Extreme weather can have significant impacts on the nation’s highway system, including reduced public safety, increased maintenance costs, lost productivity and hindered commerce. In addition to operational responses to alleviate weather impacts, efforts are needed to build resilience for future events. At the same time, the transportation industry is experiencing rapid modernization through the development of technologies in automated vehicles, connected vehicles, decision support systems, data sharing, communication, and cloud computing. The Road Weather Management Program has built a strong foundation in addressing these impacts and will continue to do so in the future.

Adverse weather events can have significant impacts on the safety, mobility, and productivity of road users. Over the last decade, more than 5,500 road user deaths and 415,000 injuries have occurred annually as a result of adverse weather. These events are also responsible for significant delays and economic impacts. For instance, the freight industry loses roughly $3.4 billion per year due to road weather related issues.

The Road Weather Management Program has facilitated the creation of many road weather systems and guidance over time such as the Clarus System that is now the backbone of the Weather Data Environment; the Pikalert® System that is now part of the Wyoming Department of Transportation’s Connected Vehicle Pilot Project; the Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) that has been enhanced over time by the MDSS Pooled Fund Study; and Weather-responsive Maintenance and Traffic Management Strategies to address topics such as anti-icing, de-icing, plowing, vegetation control, traveler information, signal timing, variable speed limits, and vehicle restrictions. Currently, the Road Weather Management Program is performing tests on autonomous vehicles during adverse weather; modeling traffic and weather in an integrated system; enabling collaboration between departments of transportation (DOTs), National Weather Service Weather Forecast Offices, and private road weather service providers to disseminate road weather information that is clear, concise, impact-based, and consistent; integrating road weather observations from sensors placed on DOTs’ fleet vehicles to support road weather applications and Weather-responsive Management Strategies; plus much more.

The future of transportation is rapidly changing, and the needs of road weather strategies and information will increase as new technology is released onto our roadways such as autonomous vehicles, connected vehicles, and urban air mobility vehicles (i.e., flying vehicles).

This session will explore the past, present, and future of the Road Weather Management’s activities and the needs for the future.