Project Co-Led by Laura Fay Wins AASHTO Award

scenic portrait of laura fay with snow covered mountains and lake in background

WTI is proud to announce that a National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), WTI, and Aurora Pooled Fund study relating weather conditions and roadway friction measurements has received the High Value Research award from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO).

Led by NCAR’s Gerry Wiener, with WTI’s Cold Climate Operations & Systems Program Manager Laura Fay as co-PI, Roadway Friction Modeling used atmospheric data, cold laboratory testing, and machine learning to infer friction conditions in locations where monitoring isn’t available. The trained computer models will help winter maintenance professionals identify when and where to apply deicer and anti-icer treatments, improving safety for road users. “This project was an amazing opportunity,” said Fay. “Working with NCAR to merge lab and field data with machine learning to advance the use of friction data in winter maintenance operations has been a goal of mine.”

The High Value Research award is determined by the AASHTO Research Advisory Committee with guidance from state departments of transportation. Fay noted that receiving the award was great news. “We worked hard, and we’re honored to be selected by AASHTO and recommended by Montana Department of Transportation.”  All 50 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia participate based on region – enjoying “friendly” competition, identifying shared and differing research priorities, and participating in annual AASHTO and Transportation Research Board (TRB) poster presentations.

The Roadway Friction Modeling study was made possible by the Aurora Pooled Fund research program, which is a collaborative partnership between national and international highway agencies and administered by the Center for Weather Impacts on Mobility and Safety (CWIMS) of the Institute for Transportation (InTrans) at Iowa State University. Aurora Pooled Fund research focuses on road weather information systems (RWIS) and has partnered with WTI researchers for many years.

RESEARCH NEWS: Winter is coming — What’s new in Cold Climate research?

snow plow drives on snowy 2 lane highway through forest

Montana is not the only place concerned with keeping the roads clear and safe during the winter months. Over the last year, WTI’s Cold Climate Operations and Systems program has added a number of new projects with multi-state partnerships to improve the tools, resources, and staffing available to winter maintenance agencies.

  • Roadway Friction Modeling: Improving the Use of Friction Measurements in State DOTs. States often use road friction measurement devices as guidance for snow removal activities, but there are challenges with interpreting the readings from multiple sensors. The goal of this project is to conduct friction testing that will improve the understanding of the relationship between weather conditions and road friction, which in turn will help to standardize data obtained and improve the ability of state DOTs to use these devices to predict friction on roadways.  This is a joint research effort with the National Center for Atmospheric Research, sponsored by the Aurora Pooled Fund Research Program.
  • Ongoing Issues with Winter Weather Severity Indices. Many state DOTs use winter-focused Weather Severity Indices (WSI) (aka Severe Weather Indices (SWI) or Storm Severity Indices (SSI)) to measure performance and manage winter maintenance operations. However, most WSIs lack the capability to capture more complex winter conditions, such as the impact of blowing and drifting snow. Through this project, WTI will create a working group of experts to advance the state of the practice of weather severity indices (WSI). This is a joint research effort with the National Center for Atmospheric Research and is sponsored by the Aurora Pooled Fund research program.
  • Recruitment and Retention of Highway Maintenance Workers. State departments of transportation (DOTs) and local public works departments (DPW) are grappling with recruiting, retaining, and training a highly proficient roadway maintenance workforce, including winter maintenance specialists. The goal of this project is to produce a concise, comprehensive guide of innovative but practical ways for DOTs/ DPWs to recruit and retain a highly proficient, productive, versatile, and committed roadway maintenance workforce.  The project is sponsored by the Clear Roads research program.

Cold Climate Program Manager Laura Fay is encouraged by the strong interest in winter maintenance collaborations: “WTI was one of the early advocates of winter maintenance peer exchanges, which really facilitated the sharing of best practices for operations. Now there are opportunities to work together on advancing new technologies and other tools that may also make it easier to monitor and manage roads in severe weather conditions.”

STUDENT NEWS: Gaining Research and Testing Experience in the Cold Climates Lab

Staff photo, Lura Johnson

The Cold Climate Operations and Systems program has new student support in the Lab!

WTI is pleased to welcome Lura Johnson as an undergraduate lab technician, who will assist with various road deicing tests and materials.  Working closely with Program Manager Laura Fay and Mat Bell, she is currently supporting the Ice Melting Capacity Test and the Roadway Friction Modeling project.

Lura is currently pursuing a B.S. in Environmental Engineering here at MSU and also participates in the Honors College. Originally from Keene Valley in upstate New York, she has a strong interest in the protection of public and private lands, like the Adirondack Park near her hometown.  Her long-term goal is to pursue a career in resource preservation with an emphasis on pollution control.  When she’s not studying or working in our labs, she enjoys making art, backcountry and nordic skiing, trail running, backpacking, and swimming.