Background

Weather is a significant component in threats to surface transportation outcomes of safety, mobility, productivity, environmental quality and national security. There are approximately 6,800 weather related fatal crashes each year with an additional 450,000 injury crashes in adverse weather. Annually, over $2 billion are spent each year in providing winter road maintenance across the United States. Even a modest goal of reducing the impacts due to adverse weather by 5% will provide a tremendous benefit economically and improved safety.

Recent national studies and reports have concluded that improved availability of weather-related pavement condition information is critical to the user of the nation's surface transportation system. A national needs assessment report released in December 2002 by the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology identified over one-hundred near- and far-term weather research needs for surface transportation ( OFCM, 2002). In their near-term recommendations are the development of improved analysis and prediction of pavement conditions and "integration into operational roadway transportation information systems". In addition, the 511 Coalition, an organization lead by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), in conjunction with many other organizations including the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and the Intelligent Transportation Society of America (ITS America), with support from the USDOT, has released a Deployment Assistance Report (DAR) on Weather and Environmental Content in 511 Systems ( AASTHO, et. al., 2003) that calls for improved weather and road condition information content. In particular, the DAR calls for the use of analyzed and predicted pavement condition information as content in future 511 systems. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) identified a significant need within the maintenance community for site-specific, road network-wide analyses and predictions of pavement conditions. The result of this study is the Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) Functional Prototype (FP) ( Mahoney, 2003). A recent review of the progress of the MDSS FP has identified the lack of quality pavement condition analysis and forecast information as a critical need in transportation operations and maintenance ( Burkheimer, 2003).

With a goal to provide specific guidance on short-term needs relating to advanced traveler information and Maintenance Decision Support Systems, the North Dakota and South Dakota Departments of Transportation (DOTs) identified four specific pavement condition elements that lack sufficient sophistication in analysis and prediction to provide support in either a 511 or operations and maintenance activity. In a June 10, 2003 meeting, officials of these two DOTs cited the pavement condition elements, in order of importance, of pavement frost and ice, pavement precipitation accumulation, presence of blowing and drifting snow in the roadway environment, and the reduction in visibility as the recommended items to be pursued under this project by the University of North Dakota (UND). These officials concluded that solving problems associated with these elements would provide enhanced integration of road weather management systems into traveler information, operations, and maintenance. The proposed Integration Project presented herein is a result of the recommendations of these stakeholders who will comprise the Center's Steering Committee on research and funding priorities.