EVALUATION OF THE U.S. 395 ROAD-WEATHER ITS SYSTEMS: FY99 FEDERAL EARMARK, SPOKANE, WASHINGTON

This paper reports on the findings from an evaluation of a Fiscal Year 1999 rural federal earmark project. The project resulted in the deployment of new road-weather information systems in the northeastern section of Washington State. These systems included two RWIS stations, three cameras, two mobile Highway Advisory Radio (HAR) systems, and enhanced information posted on the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) web site. The purpose of the evaluation was to assess the mobility, safety, and maintenance and operations benefits from these rural ITS facilities. A particular focus was to assess the benefits experienced by Commercial Vehicle Operators (CVOs) and private travelers in a mountainous, rural setting during winter driving conditions, using telephone and Internet surveys. Potential efficiency and safety benefits were carefully examined with regard to WSDOT's maintenance and operations in the study region, based on detailed weather event records and telephone interviews. This paper presents evaluation findings in the following five categories: (1) infrastructure operations and maintenance; (2) travel and mobility for commercial vehicles; (3) travel and mobility for public travelers; (4) system performance; and (5) safety. The paper concludes that even limited Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) road-weather information systems can offer significant benefits both to state Department of Transportation (DOT) operations and to commercial and private travelers in these rural areas. Although system bugs needed to be worked out, and in spite of a noticeable learning and trust-building curve in the short run, in the long run both operators and travelers adjust their behaviors to access and use good real-time information when it becomes available to them. The findings in this report can be used by DOT's in other rural areas to effectively deploy similar ITS to enhance travel. Guided by this evaluation, WSDOT also plans to expand their use of RWIS.