Lightning Round Session of Presentations for Topics A, B, & C 

Date and Time: Tuesday, May 9, 2023: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Keck 100
Moderator: Kathy Ahlenius, Winter Research Project Manager Committee Activity, Wyoming Department of Transportation
 

Session Agenda

Session Description

Topic A: Advancements in Winter Maintenance – Equipment and Materials
Effective snow and ice control is a critical aspect of highway winter maintenance. Snow removal equipment, especially, is a key element that is affected by harsh conditions. This topic will focus on new advancements in equipment and materials, salt savings and winter maintenance best practices.
The topic includes:
• Advancements in maintenance equipment
• Best practices in materials management
• Salt savings to reduce environmental impacts
• Case studies and applications
• Drifting snow & avalanche control

Topic B: Performance Improvement in Winter Maintenance and Road Weather Management
Monitoring and measuring roadway conditions remains a critical component of effective and efficient winter maintenance. This topic will focus on how to attract winter maintenance personnel and how to plan and optimize for the best performance to achieve and maintain the targeted level of service.
The topic include:
• Crowdsourcing for Performance Improvement
• Human Resource Training
• Motivating Personnel
• Organizational Resiliency
• Levels of Service
• Performance Measures and Operations Management

Topic C: Resiliency and Weather-Responsive Transportation Management
The climate is changing, and how it changes can affect the way transportation agencies maintain and operate the roads all year round. What are some of issues your agency is dealing with in regard to a changing climate, extreme weather events and resiliency to future events? This topic will focus on the ways in which agencies are managing the transportation system under all types of weather events, especially as they face the challenges associated with an increase in extreme events. What does it take to operate and maintain a resilient transportation system under these circumstances?
The topic includes:
• Repurposing Resources
• Detecting and Forecasting Extreme Events under Winter and Summer Conditions
• Environmental Sustainability and Impacts
• Best practices and case studies in traffic and emergency management (e.g., variable speed limits and traveler information systems, including Cost-benefit analyses)
• Data management and information systems to support weather-responsive transportation management
• Weather and the commercial vehicle community
• Refining/redefining/reshaping/exploring public and private sectors roles in road weather management
• Advancements in flood management for maintenance and operations
• Cross-coordination with infrastructure managers
• Cross-coordination with the meteorological and flood management communities