In order to provide safe transportation to motorists, state transportation agencies in northern states must apply effective highway maintenance treatments appropriate to a wide range of winter conditions. Maintenance personnel must decide what treatments to apply, and when to apply them, based on their knowledge of current pavement conditions, current and forecasted weather conditions, as well as available maintenance techniques and resources. In large part, current decisions are based upon prior experience of maintenance personnel and supervisors.
Several factors complicate the ability of state agencies to meet motorists' expectations for clear and safe roadways.
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The expectations of the traveling public and commercial carriers are increasing;
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Agencies are constrained to relatively fixed levels of funding and staffing;
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Reliable and timely reports of conditions for specific areas can be difficult to obtain;
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Certain weather conditions, such as blowing and/or drifting snow, are difficult to forecast;
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The response of pavement conditions to changing weather situations and maintenance treatments is not well established;
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Innovative maintenance treatments, such as anti-icing technology, are available, but their effect and effectiveness over the full range of possible conditions are not well understood;
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Retiring maintenance staff are being replaced by less experienced workers.
Agencies could provide more effective maintenance, and provide it more efficiently, with the help of an automated Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) that could:
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Assess current road and weather conditions using observations and reasonable inferences based upon observations;
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Provide time- and location-specific weather forecasts along transportation routes;
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Predict how road conditions would change due to forecasted weather and the application of several candidate road maintenance treatments;
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Notify state agencies of approaching conditions and suggest optimal maintenance treatments that can be achieved with resources available to the transportation agencies; and
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Evaluate the reliability of predictions and the effectiveness of applied maintenance treatments for specific road and weather conditions in order for decision support to be improved.
Research is needed to develop these capabilities in a manner that is technically practical and operationally friendly to maintenance forces. This research could build on states' successful efforts to provide better road and weather information through 511 and other initiatives.
