1 Clarus: The National Surface Transportation Weather Observing and Forecasting System Roemer M. Alfelor FHWA Office of Transportation Operations Washington DC December 1, 2004 MnDOT Regional Traffic Management Center Roseville, MN

2 FHWA Road Weather Management Objectives: To better understand the impacts of weather on highways, and develop and deploy strategies that can mitigate those impacts, through the following activities: 1.Partnership and Collaboration 2.Customer Service and Outreach 3.Tools and Technologies Maintenance Decision Support Weather-Responsive Traffic Management Road Weather Observing/Forecasting Systems 4.Program Management and Evaluation

3 Clarus Observing System What –Demonstration of a regional road weather observation and forecasting system, and partnership to establish a nationwide road weather observation network. Why –To reduce the impact of adverse weather on all road and transit users and operators.

4 Clarus Context Diagram

5 Clarus Use Case Scenario Service Provider Traffic Operations Center External Weather Data Sources Vehicle Data Collector ESS Data Collector/RWIS Patrol or Maintenance Vehicle ESS Equipment Provide Nowcast and Forecast Provide Other Decision Support Info Provide ESS Data Provide Vehicle Data Integrate and Transform Service Provider Data Network Operator Clarus Transfer Quality Controlled Data Collect External Weather Data Compare RWIS and Vehicle Data with External Weather Data Collect, Check, Flag and Send RWIS Data Collect, Check, Flag and Send Vehicle Data

6 Clarus Route Specific Radio,TV and Internet Broadcasts of Travel Conditions Credible & Precise Travel Advice Add Detail to HAR & VMS Spawn New technologies (in vehicle, PDA) Create New and More Effective Ways to Convey Surface Transportation Weather Information Clarus System Applications Enhance decision making tools

7 A stable and reliable access to integrated surface transportation weather related observations Continuous quality control with feedback to customers Data available in one common format with full metadata Data provided without post-processing, ready to be incorporated into value-added products including weather and traffic models as well as decision support systems Support for the inclusion of new technologies such as vehicle-based sensing technologies, surface visibility information from traffic cameras, and remote sensing technologies Benefits of Clarus

8 Clarus Roadmap Stakeholder Coordination System Design FY04FY05FY06FY07FY08FY09 Multi-State Regional Demonstration Final Design and Deployment Track 2 Track 3 Track 4 Track 1

9 1.Stakeholder Coordination – ICC established and first meeting held in Sept Concept of Operations –User Needs and Use Case Drafts(on website) –ICC Meeting/ConOps Review 03/02/05 –Final Draft 05/06/05 2.System Design –RFP issued 11/19/04 –20 Months beginning on or about 06/01/05 –Systems Engineering stages following Concept of Operations –Proof-of-Concept Clarus Roadmap - Status

10 Who is this open to? –Open to all -- Meteorological and Transportation Communities. What level of activity is expected? –Up to the individual. ICC is meant to provide the stakeholders a voice. Is everything left to consensus? –The ICC Management Team makes final decisions with input from ICC. Clarus ICC - Membership

11 DOT Consultant Team ClarusInitiative Management Team Project Task Force Project Task Force Clarus Initiative Coordinating Committee (ICC) Project Task Force USDOT NOAA ITS America AMS ITE AASHTO TRB Clarus ICC - Organization

12 1.Vehicle Infrastructure Integration and Data Collection Enhancement 2.CCTV Technologies for Road Condition and Visibility 3.Phased Array Radar for Near Surface Observing 4.Remote Sensing from NASA Satellites Clarus Applied Research

13 1.ESS Siting Guidelines 2.Missouri DOT Weather Response System for Traffic Management 3.Integration of Weather Information in TMC’s and TOC’s 4.Maintenance Decision-Support System (MDSS) Technology Transfer and Pooled Fund Study 5.Empirical Studies on Weather and Traffic 6.Integrating RWIS Data into MADIS Related FHWA Activities

14 Paul Pisano –Team Leader, Road Weather Management Program Roemer Alfelor –Transp. Specialist, Road Weather Mgmt. Program James Pol –Transp. Specialist, ITS Joint Program Office Program Web Sites – – – Contact Info