Free Webinar: Managing Traffic During Flood Events: Transportation Agency Experiences and Strategies

Posted on Feb. 20, 2014

Upcoming Talking Technology and Transportation (T3) Webinar

Title: Managing Traffic During Flood Events: Transportation Agency Experiences and Strategies

Date: Thursday, March 6, 2014

Time:  1:00 PM – 2:30 PM ET
Cost: Free

More information and to register, click here.

Overview

The Road Weather Management Program (RWMP), within the Federal Highway Administration's (FHWA) Office of Operations, seeks to better understand the impacts of weather on roadways, and to promote strategies and tools to mitigate those impacts. Envisioned is a system that provides “Anytime, Anywhere Road Weather Information” for road users and road operating agencies, as well as a robust, competitive market for road weather services. One of the key goals of the program is to improve traffic management during adverse weather events.

To support this goal, the RWMP has an initiative called Weather Responsive Traffic Management (WRTM). The initiative involves working with State DOTs and other partners to develop and implement traffic management strategies in response to current or anticipated weather conditions. WRTM includes improving traffic analysis, modeling, and prediction of traffic flow under all types of weather conditions; integrating high-quality, timely, and relevant weather information with existing traffic information into the transportation management centers; developing guidelines for road weather information communication and presentation that meet the needs of the traveling public for different weather conditions and travel scenarios; and creating evaluation guidance for transportation agencies to assess that the benefits outweigh the costs for implementing a particular strategy.

Recent stakeholder discussions have highlighted a greater need to focus on traffic management before, during, and after flood events and to strengthen the inclusion of hydrology in planning, operations, and maintenance. Transportation agencies throughout the country deal with flood events caused by heavy rains or prolonged periods of precipitation, which have significant impacts on transportation systems. As one stakeholder remarked, “water is what takes out our roadways, bridges, and communications.” Flooding can result in both short-term and long-term impacts to operations with problems continuing spatially and temporally beyond the local area of the precipitation event.

This webinar will present experiences from two State DOTs in managing the effects of flooding on roadway systems. Their presentations will address this challenge from three perspectives: transportation management, bridge management, and maintenance. 

Learning Objectives

• Share peer-to-peer experiences regarding management of roads during flood events, and inclusion of hydrology issues in planning, operations, and maintenance practices
• Share resources, practices, and tools available to the road weather management community
• Identify unmet needs and capabilities relating to traffic management during flood events
• Establish incremental steps to guide agencies towards advances in traffic management during flood events

Hosts

Roemer Alfelor, Weather Responsive Traffic Management Program, Office of Operations, Federal Highway Administration

Deepak Gopalakrishna, Program Manager, Battelle

Presenters

Gene S. Donaldson, Transportation Management Center Operations Manager, Delaware Department of Transportation

Dave Claman, Preliminary Bridge Engineer, Office of Bridges & Structures, Iowa Department of Transportation

James Bane, District 4 Maintenance Manager, Iowa Department of Transportation