South Dakota Department of Transportation (SDDOT) Regional Traveler Information System for Weather Responsive Traffic Management

Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) Road Weather Management Program (RWMP) strives to promote the \ndevelopment and implementation of cutting-edge techniques for maintaining safety, mobility, and productivity of roadways \nduring adverse weather conditions. The FHWA RWMP partnered with the South Dakota DOT to develop and implement a \nWeather Responsive Traffic Management (WRTM) strategy that involves mobile data collection and traveler information \ndissemination during weather events. A concept of operations and an evaluation plan were developed and utilized in the \nproject. The objectives of the system were to improve the efficiency of road condition data collection, increase the number \nand frequency of road condition reports, improve and expand road weather information provided to travelers, enhance the \nperceived benefits to travelers from the new traveler information, and support partner agencies that can use the new \ntraveler information. This report documents the development, implementation and evaluation of the system. Overall, the \nevaluations indicate that travelers value road condition forecasts. Furthermore, after viewing road condition forecasts, the \ntravelers’ either changed the timing or routing of their trips, or felt more prepared for them. The report also contains \nlessons learned and recommendations based on the evaluation results.\n