00974856

Component

http://onlinepubs.trb.org...nepubs/circulars/ec063.pdf

The Wisconsin Department of Transportation, in cooperation with 8 Wisconsin counties, has embarked on a 4- to 5-year effort to implement advanced technologies in winter maintenance vehicles. The University of Wisconsin-Madison is assisting with data management aspects of the effort. The winter maintenance vehicles are equipped with differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) receivers and numerous additional sensors that collect environmental data (e.g., pavement and air temperature), equipment status data (e.g., plow up/plow down), and material usage data (e.g., salt application rate). These data are telemetered to a dispatch center and recorded on magnetic media for later downloading. Data are transmitted and recorded as often as every 2 s. Data such as these, both in type and in quantity, have never before been available to Wisconsin transportation agencies. A geographic information system application, dubbed "Wiscplow," has been developed and initially deployed for testing within participating counties. Wiscplow combines vehicle data with manually entered data (e.g., storm durations, vehicle configurations, and labor and equipment cost rates) and with spatial data representing roadway centerlines attributed with functional class, number of lanes, patrol sections, and route systems. Outputs include reports on computed performance measures (e.g., cycle time and hourly average salt application rate by patrol section and storm) and decision management tools (i.e., charts, graphs, and maps) showing relationships among performance measures (e.g., salt application rate versus pavement temperature by patrol section and storm). Both technical and institutional issues are being addressed. Technical issues include spatial data accuracy requirements, sensitivity of computed performance measures to error in the DGPS and roadway centerline data, temporal keys to uniquely identify vehicle data points, and advanced map-matching algorithms for resolution of spatial ambiguities between DGPS and roadway centerline data at intersections and on converging and diverging roadways (e.g., ramps). Institutional issues include responsibility for development and maintenance of the necessary spatial databases at the required level of accuracy and currency, installation and management of a new set of databases and applications within county highway departments, staffing and training, and mechanisms for technical support and maintenance of the application software.

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E-C063,
SNOW04-005
SNOW04-039

English

p. 348-360

2004-6

Transportation Research Circular

Sixth International Symposium on Snow Removal and Ice Control Technology

Figures (11) ; References (5)

Accuracy; Algorithms; Data collection; Databases; Geographic information systems; Global Positioning System; Intelligent vehicles; Personnel; Sensitivity; Sensors; Software maintenance; Spatial analysis; Technical assistance; Training; Winter maintenance

Wisconsin

Education and Training; Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Society; I62: Winter Maintenance

TRIS, TRB

Jun 10 2004 12:00AM