Managing a winter maintenance program today is an increasingly complex endeavor. Just making sure that a plow blade is at the ready when the first flake falls is only a small part of the task. With tight budgets and the high expectation of the public for keeping roads clear of snow and ice, today’s maintenance manager has to be able to handle multiple tasks or risk getting behind the onslaught of winter weather. All of the regulations about chemical applications, environmental impacts and multiple, often contradictory weather forecasts can lead to information overload.

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) recognized this potential problem in the late 1990’s. Generally speaking, there were plenty of weather forecasts, along with a few companies that issued road-specific forecasts, but there was a lack of linkage between the information available and the decisions made by winter maintenance managers. It was this weak link that became the genesis for the winter Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS).

The MDSS has since matured into an operational prototype. During the winter of 2002-2003, the prototype was deployed at several maintenance garages in central Iowa for a field demonstration. This paper will describe the implementation of the demonstration, a summary of lessons learned, plans for a longer, more comprehensive demonstration during the winter of 2003-2004, and technology transfer activities.