1.0 Introduction and Background

The Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Road Weather Management Program (RWMP) has identified the integration of weather information into the operations of Transportation Management Centers (TMCs) across the country as a key objective. Since early 2004, the RWMP has sponsored a series of three linked studies to develop a concept of weather integration, identify best practices being used by TMCs, and support leading TMCs as demonstration sites for effective integration of weather information in their daily operations. This report describes the third phase of this effort that has focused on the preparation of detailed weather integration implementation plans by selected TMCs, the deployment of integrated systems, and the evaluation of the performance and benefits of those systems. Weather information integration is beginning to take hold but much remains to be done to further raise awareness of the benefits of weather integration and encourage more widespread adoption of weather integration strategies. This report offers several recommendations for additional steps that will need to be taken to more fully accomplish the program objectives.

1.1 Project History

Phase I Integration Study: 2004-2005. The first study in the weather integration series began with an investigation of the needs and opportunities for the integration of emergency and weather elements in TMC operations, along with an exploration of the concepts, methods and potential benefits of integration to improve operations. Thirty eight TMCs across the country were contacted, and ten of them were visited. These TMCs demonstrated current best practices in the integration of weather and emergency information and systems. The final report from this study¹ summarized how weather and emergency information and decision-support systems were being integrated in these TMCs. In order to better organize and present the activities of these TMCs, further background research was conducted to help define and clarify the concept of integration. Potential benefits of integration were identified, including the following:

Improved access to all regional information using compatible, standards-based systems over reliable communication systems.
Ability to coordinate and pool resources to accomplish operations not currently possible.
Improved clarity of roles and ability to communicate both current operations and future investments.
More timely and accurate information provided to the traveling public, thereby increasing customer safety and satisfaction.
Better prepared TMC operators to address adverse weather on the transportation system in terms of appropriate staffing and implementation of traffic advisories and control strategies.

Nine recommendations were offered to help encourage and enhance weather integration. These included enhancing awareness of the value of weather information integration, promoting the concept and best practices, self-evaluation of integration needs, developing integration guidelines, improving communication between the weather and transportation communities, fostering research on how weather integration can help TMC operations, and encouraging uniform practices of integration across TMCs.

Phase II Integration Study: 2006-2008. The second study² in the weather integration series built upon the recommendation from the first study that TMCs “should conduct a self-evaluation to help identify the most effective integration solutions and guide their deployment.” A self-evaluation guide was developed, using Microsoft Access, to assist TMCs in identifying their weather integration needs and matching their high priority needs with appropriate, implementable integration strategies. Also included was an outline for preparing a comprehensive integration plan. This study was centered on two TMCs (Sacramento, CA and Milwaukee, WI) that formed multi-agency teams to identify practical, implementable weather information integration strategies. Based on the experiences of these TMCs, lessons learned were presented, and suggestions for improving the Guide were incorporated into an updated version that was made publically available on the RWMP website.

Eleven recommendations were offered, based on the experience working with these TMCs, primarily related to education and training, and further implementation and refinement of the self-evaluation process supported by the Guide. Underlying these recommendations are a few common themes that include the need for:

key individuals in the state Departments of Transportation (DOTs) and TMCs to champion weather integration,
motivation to engage in a partnership among DOT management, TMC operations and maintenance, representatives of related agencies (e.g., emergency response, highway patrol), and the meteorological community,
an evidence base that demonstrates the benefit-cost advantages of integration, with evaluation and promotion of the value of integration based on that evidence, and
resources (staff, money and materials) to fully support weather integration implementation.

Phase III Integration Study: 2009-2011. The third study in the weather integration series is the subject of this report. During this latest period, the consultant team assisted the Sacramento Regional TMC (RTMC) in carrying out and evaluating a weather alert notification system that they had implemented, based on a strategy identified in their self-evaluation. Three additional TMCs volunteered to participate in the self-evaluation and integration planning process, including Kansas City Scout, Colorado Springs, Colorado, and the Louisiana State TMCs. The scope of this phase of the study included expanding weather integration activities with additional TMCs, supporting the development and distribution of various marketing strategies and materials, and refining the self-evaluation and planning guidelines to support greater integration in the future. After this phase was underway, the scope was expanded further to include two interested TMCs that were willing to work with the Guide on their own, with minimal outside support, to conduct their self-evaluation and develop a plan. This served as a test of the ability of the Wyoming Statewide TMC and the Redding, California TMC to achieve new levels of weather integration on their own and the ability of the Guide to support those efforts. This report describes the conduct and results of this third phase study.

1.2 Policy Background for Weather Information Integration

Prior to the first phase of the weather information integration studies, the FHWA sponsored a study to develop a concept of operations for managing weather events.³ This concept is grounded in three basic operational objectives: maintain and improve safety, maintain and improve mobility, and improve agency productivity. According to the study, to achieve these objectives with regard to operating under adverse weather conditions, a transportation agency gathers information and seeks to predict or anticipate potential impacts, and employs mitigation strategies either in anticipation or in response to impacts. The report concludes that, while weather-responsive traffic operations offers great value to managers, “this concept will be enhanced by [the] establishment of mechanisms for improved coordination within transportation agency divisions and between transportation agencies and other key response agencies…(p. 4‑1).” Right after this study, the National Academy of Science conducted a study that has served to guide the RWMP in framing its research agenda. This study recognized the importance of inter-agency coordination in support of weather integration and provided recommendations for research to “provide a framework to engage the transportation and weather communities [to help them] capitalize on existing capabilities and take advantage of opportunities for advances (p. 2).”⁴

Recognizing the unacceptably high safety and mobility impacts of severe weather on the transportation system, the RWMP established a roadmap of programmatic initiatives in an effort to help state DOTs and affiliated agencies mitigate the adverse effects of weather. One of those important initiatives has included the weather information integration studies. The RWMP created a framework for its Weather Responsive Traffic Management (WRTM) program that illustrates how weather information integration dovetails with the other key elements in the program (Figure 1).

The starting point for the weather integration project was to identify TMCs engaged in best practices with regard to taking weather into account in their operational decision-making and build from that base to encourage more TMCs to adopt weather integration strategies. Further work has clarified both the potential benefits of integration and the challenges faced in achieving that goal. A common thread throughout this work is the recognition of the success factors of having a combination of an informed and motivated operational team along with the identification of clear integration strategies and the resources to support their implementation.

Framework chart indicating WRTM strategy and activity relationships.

Source: FHWA

Figure 1. Framework for the WRTM Program

Based on the experience to date, successful strategies have been identified and deployed, but much more needs to be done to extend the benefits of weather information integration to a significant number of TMCs in the country. Effective integration of weather information and services into TMCs will facilitate and support:

Well-informed maintenance and operational staff who understand the effects of weather events on road conditions and transportation system performance, along with the value of a coordinated road weather management system.
Timely and more pro-active operational decision making, including the ability to effectively respond to forecast weather events and prepare before serious problems arise.
Operational understanding of available weather integration tools and how to use them effectively in a TMC.
The value of a weather perspective embedded in the TMC concept of operations and accepted by management as the preferred way of conducting the functions of the TMC.
A weather responsive performance assessment system that monitors TMC performance and supports a continuous improvement process.

1.3 Contents of this Report

This report discusses the activities conducted as part of Phase III of the weather information integration study. The following sections are covered:

Section 3.0: Describes the selection criteria and process followed to identify prospective TMCs to participate in self-evaluation of weather integration needs and the development of an integration plan based on identified integration strategies. The TMCs were divided into two tiers, Tier 1 receiving extensive support in working with the Guide and Tier 2 agreeing to work mostly on their own.
Section 4.0: Describes the planning process at the Tier 1 and Tier 2 sites.
Section 5.0: Describes the implementation and evaluation of a weather alert notification system at the Sacramento RTMC.
Section 6.0: Describes a strategic marketing plan and measures of integration performance.
Section 7.0: Describes modifications to the Self-Evaluation and Integration Planning Guide that were made, based on experiences working with various TMCs and the feedback they provided for Guide improvement.
Section 8.0: Describes the overall accomplishments of the weather integration work, including the lessons learned.
Section 9.0: Provides four recommendations for further program consideration based on the cumulative experiences of the past seven years of weather integration work.

¹ Cluett, C., Kitchener, F., Shank, D., Osborne, L., and Conger, S. (2006). Integration of Emergency and Weather Elements into Transportation Management Centers (Report No. FHWA-HOP-06-090. EDL No. 14247). Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Available at: http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/jpodocs/repts_te/14247_files/14247.pdf

²Cluett, C., Gopalakrishna, D., Balke, K., Kitchener, F., and Osborne, L. (2008). Integrating Weather in TMC Operations. (Report No. FHWA-JPO-08-058. EDL No. 14438). Washington, DC: Federal Highway Administration. Available at: http://ntl.bts.gov/lib/30000/30900/30940/tmc_wx_integration_report_11_17_08.pdf

³ Federal Highway Administration. 2003. Weather-Responsive Traffic Management: Concept of Operations. Draft report prepared by Cambridge Systematics, Inc. (January 10).

⁴ National Research Council of the National Academies, Committee on Weather Research for Surface Transportation: The Roadway Environment. 2004. Where the Weather Meets the Road: A Research Agenda for Improving Road Weather Services. Washington, D.C.: The National Academies Press.