1	Integrating Surface Transportation Weather Information Systems - The DOT Role Transportation Research Board 85th Annual Meeting Session 494: SAFETEA-LU Road Weather Research and Development Program January 24, 2006 Jeffery F. Paniati Associate Administrator Office of Operations Federal Highway Administration
2	Presentation Overview Importance of road weather management in achieving 21^st century operations. Progress to date. Future direction--SAFETEA-LU section 5308.
3	Basic Premise… Build, maintain, and operate a transportation system that is safe, reliable, and secure.
4	Current Reality… BUILD, maintain, and operate a transportation system that is safe, reliable, and secure.
5	"Safety" Safety 24% of all crashes occurred on slick pavement or under adverse weather. Mobility Travel delay can increase by 11% to 50%, depending on weather severity. Productivity Weather-related delay can add $3.4 billion to freight costs annually.
6	Achieving 21^st Century Operations
7	Realizing the Vision
8	21^st Century Operations Under All Weather Conditions
9	Progress to Date FHWA/NOAA Partnership The Maintenance Decision Support System (MDSS) The Clarus Initiative
10	FHWA/NOAA Partnership FHWA and NOAA have common strategic goals Reducing the loss of lives on the surface transportation system. Improving mobility to aid the free flow of commerce. Numerous examples of collaboration A Memorandum of Understanding was signed in July 2005. FHWA and NOAA co-chair the Working Group on Weather Information for Surface Transportation. Cost-share on research and outreach projects.
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16	Unlimited Possibilities!
17	SAFETEA-LU – Section 5308 Establish a Road Weather R&D program: Follow NRC report “Where the Weather Meets the Road” Promote technology transfer Expand research and development Multi-disciplinary stakeholder input: NOAA AASHTO National Science Foundation Private sector Non-profit organizations Funding: $5m/yr for 4 years
18	Section 5308 – Road Weather R&D Program Affirms that we are on the right track. Enables us to do even more Expand upon the success of MDSS. Integrate Clarus and Vehicle Infrastructure Integration (VII). Build weather-responsive traffic management tools.
19	Expand MDSS Build upon the success of MDSS by expanding it to support other operations and maintenance decisionmaking. Weather-responsive traffic management and traveler information. Maintenance and construction. Support the new market of MDSS services by documenting costs and benefits. Continued outreach, education, and technology transfer.
20	Integrate Clarus & VII There is a strong link between Clarus and the Vehicle Infrastructure Integration Initiative (VII). The marriage of these two initiatives will: Completely alter the road weather landscape Spark new innovations in the private sector Change the way that atmospheric scientists observe and model the boundary layer Over the next four years, we will tap into the VII data stream, turning it into valuable road weather observations that can be utilized by the road weather community.
21	Weather-responsive Traffic Management Traffic managers must be proactive. Integrated solutions pave the way. Both transportation modeling and weather modeling are improving in resolution, focusing on the mesoscale. Merging mesoscale weather forecasts (e.g., a precipitation forecast for the next 8 hours) with traffic models will enable a traffic manager to take action before the weather has a chance to take effect. Over the next four years we will explore such model integration as well as the development of better weather-responsive traffic management strategies.
22	Conclusion Improved weather management is a key part of 21^st century operations. The FHWA Weather Management program has established the institutional relationships and demonstrated the potential of technology. SAFETEA-LU Section 5308 will serve as a catalyst to change surface transportation weather and operations: Providing the resources to develop integrated solutions Creating demand for these solutions by building bridges between the transportation and meteorological communities Leveraging public sector resources to build markets and improve private sector services These efforts will ultimately change the way that we make decisions, which will save lives, time, and money.