01103916

Component

http://www.trb.org/Publications/Blurbs/160000.aspx

Maintenance decision support systems (MDSS) are becoming important tools in the winter weather response strategies of many state departments of transportation. Their value can be extended to local agencies as well. The City and County of Denver, Colorado, has incorporated MDSS with other technological aids to support snow response and provide the citizens of Denver with a safer driving environment and increased level of service. Denver contracts its MDSS service from the university component of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR) in Boulder, Colorado. This MDSS has been established to provide weather prediction and treatment recommendations on statewide, regional, and local levels. The weather prediction module of the system utilizes numerous forecast elements and melds these together to form an accurate forecasting model. The system goes much further than just predicting the weather for the next 48 h. Existing atmospheric and roadway conditions are available from dozens of locations statewide. Denver has also provided the staff at UCAR with typical response strategies and material usage, which they incorporate into their predictive models. The treatment module provides a recommended treatment strategy to keep roadways at an optimum condition during the course of an event. Included in the software is a treatment selector that allows city staff to examine different response strategies to see what effect they may have on roadway conditions prior to implementation. The city has not limited its use of technology aids in snow response to just MDSS. The city has invested in pavement sensors that provide surface and subsurface temperatures, moisture phase, and residual chemical concentrations. All these provide information important in the decision process of when and what deicer chemicals to deploy. These data will be integrated into the UCAR MDSS for the winter of 2007–2008. The city has also developed a geographic information system application to monitor the status of plowing operations for the 1,800 lane miles of designated snow routes within the city. At this time the data are only used internally, however, it is anticipated that at some point these data will be made available to the general public. Currently the snow route status is manually entered into the database that feeds the application but this will become automatic with the implementation of in-cab Global Positioning System–automatic vehicle location equipment. These technologies are exciting tools, but they do not serve the public if they cannot be used to positively affect the level of service provided to citizens. There are two ways that a direct benefit to the public can be seen: cost and safety. The ability to provide timely response, especially in the area of storm pretreatment, can significantly increase the safety of the public during inclement weather. Costs can escalate if crews are mobilized too early or material is placed when unnecessary. MDSS gives access to critical information that aids in decision making for storm response. Proper use of these innovative tools allows Denver to provide its citizens with a cost-effective and beneficial response to winter weather.

01103914

Snow08-029

English

pp 240-249

2008-6

Transportation Research Circular

Fourth National Conference on Surface Transportation Weather; Seventh International Symposium on Snow Removal and Ice Control Technology

Web

Figures (8) ; Photos (2)

Automatic vehicle location; Cost effectiveness; Decision support systems; Deicing; Geographic information systems; Global Positioning System; Highway safety; Level of service; Local government; Maintenance management; Pavements; Snow and ice control; Surface temperature; Temperature sensors; Weather forecasting; Winter maintenance

Denver (Colorado)

Highways; Maintenance and Preservation; Pavements; I62: Winter Maintenance

TRIS, TRB

Jun 26 2008 1:11PM