THE FEDERAL PROGRAM IN THE UNITED STATES FOR ROAD WEATHER MANAGEMENT

This paper describes how, in the United States, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) oversees federal-aid funding, standards, and research for highways. Since the FHWA builds and operates no highways, it leads a partnership with states and other highway operators in all of its programs. This has created a challenge to creating a coordinated road weather research program, and also in bringing highway constituencies into a weather information program that is operated primarily by other federal agencies. The Road Weather Management Program within the FHWA is derived from the Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) program currently under the U.S. Department of Transportation. The Road Weather Management Program was begun in 1997 to coordinate various weather-related activities within the FHWA. It identified environmental information for decision support as a significant need, along with further development of winter road maintenance treatment practices. In 1999 the program was when the FHWA created an operational unit. The program continues a long-term project to document decision support requirements involving weather and road-surface environmental conditions for winter road maintenance, traffic management, emergency response, and traveler information. The requirements are the initial part of prototype-development and operational-test phases. At present, the Program has nearly completed a three-year evaluation of its first operational test called FORETELL, which involves meso-scaled weather modeling, road surface condition prediction and information to operators and travelers. A second generation of decision support components has been developed under a program involving several federal research laboratories and is proceeding to operational testing. Results are coming in from university research laboratories and prediction. Coordination with other federal agencies, especially the National Weather Service, has strengthened the national efforts on services to surface transportation.

• Supplemental Notes:
  • Conference proceedings available on CD-ROM.
• Corporate Authors:

  World Road Association (PIARC)

  La Grande Arche, Paroi Nord, Niveau 5
  F-92055 La Defense Cedex,   France 
• Authors:
  • Pisano, P
  • Nelson, G G
• Conference:
  • New Challenges for Winter Road Service. XIth International Winter Road Congress
  • Location: Sapporo, Japan
  • Date: 2002-1-28 to 2002-1-31
• Publication Date: 2002

Language

• English

Media Info

• Pagination: 7p

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Crash avoidance systems; Emergency response time; Environmental impact analysis; Public participation; Road weather information systems; Snow and ice control; Surface treating; Trade routes; Traveler information and communication systems; Weather conditions; Weather forecasting; Weather radar; Winter maintenance
• Subject Areas: Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Society; I62: Winter Maintenance;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 00921169
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Mar 15 2002 12:00AM