Assessment of Montana Road Weather Information System: Site Prioritization Model for Montana RWIS

This interim report presents the development of an environmental sensor station (ESS) site prioritization model as part of the overall project to assess the Montana Department of Transportation (MDT) Road Weather Information System (RWIS). MDT, like many other state departments of transportation (DOTs), continues to expand their RWIS programs. As agencies expand their RWIS programs, they are often faced with the challenge of selecting a limited number of ESS sites from a larger pool of proposed sites given the limited budgets available. Traditionally, regional and statewide ESS site selection has typically been a subjective process relying primarily on DOT personnel and meteorologist judgement as discovered in Task 2: State of the Art Review. Therefore, there is a need for an objective prioritization model for proposed ESS, which should guide future RWIS expansion and ensure maximum utility (benefits) from new ESS installations. The work performed in this task and presented in this report aims at developing a model for assessing the merit of proposed new ESS sites which could serve as a guide for RWIS system expansion in a region or at the state level. Such a model can help MDT in prioritizing the installation of new ESS sites on a regular basis. The model may also be used in finalizing the exact location of a proposed site along a specific corridor to ensure an optimum output is obtained.