Integrated Modeling for Road Condition Prediction (IMRCP): Phase 4 Research and Deployment

Date and Time: Tuesday, May 9, 2023: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Location: Keck 100

 

Lead Presenter:  John Kyle Garrett, Principal
Affiliation:  Synesis Partners LLC
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Lead Presenter Biography

Kyle Garrett has over forty years of systems engineering experience in road weather information systems, connected and automated vehicle technologies, intelligent transportation systems (ITS), information technology, wireless commerce, and nuclear power industries. In addition to being a founder of Synesis Partners, he has served in scores of projects as a consultant, principal investigator, program and project manager, systems engineer, and analyst. Mr. Garrett has worked with Federal, State, and local agencies, automakers, and technology partners in road weather systems, infrastructure, connected and automated vehicle systems, and strategic program development for the last nineteen years. He has been extensively involved in road weather data systems such as FHWA’s Integrated Model for Road Condition Prediction and the Weather Data Environment and Weather Data Environment. Kyle is currently supporting AASHTO in governance for its Transportation Operations Manual Technical Committee and in CAV technology planning and assessment. He also provides infrastructure systems analysis and data modeling for FHWA’s CARMA project. Prior engagements have included the Connected Vehicle Pooled Fund Study’s 5.9 GHz DSRC-based Road and Weather Condition Application and AASHTO’s Connected Vehicle Field Infrastructure Footprint Analysis. Kyle is a member of the Transportation Research Board Standing Committee on Road Weather (AKR50). 

Co-Authors

Presentation Description 

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) started development of Integrated Modeling for Road Condition Prediction (IMRCP) in 2015 with the intent of extending awareness of road conditions to support decision-making in transportation operations. The modeling and integration work in two dimensions:
1. Bringing traffic, weather, and event data into a common view of conditions.
2. Extending that common view from now into the future and back into the past.

The modeling and integration include real-time data, corresponding archives, and generating results from an ensemble of forecast and probabilistic models. These data and models represent atmospheric, hydrology, and road weather; traffic; work zones and winter maintenance operations; incidents; and special events and demand models.

All transportation system stakeholders can benefit from this broader and deeper view of conditions. Operators, maintainers, and travelers can make better-informed decisions for:
• Enacting traffic controls (e.g., variable speed limits, ramp metering, gates).
• Deploying maintenance.
• Providing traveler information.
• Changing (delaying, re-routing) travel plans.

Deployment over the last four phases of IMRCP has been a cooperative partnership with operating agencies, requiring access to archived and real-time data, understanding of agency operations practice, and engaged operators. In its development phases, IMRCP has benefited from feedback on system use cases, capabilities, and interfaces, generally provided by agency subject matter experts. From a development perspective, the greatest benefits have come from active use and testing of IMRCP alongside existing agency systems. This use has been captured throughout IMRCP’s development in evaluations of the system’s capabilities and user experience.

Extended Summary

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