https://www.americancityandcounty.com/wp-content/themes/acc_child/assets/images/logo/footer-logo.png
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcast
  • Resources & Events
    • Back
    • Resources
    • Webinars
    • White Papers
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • Municipal Cost Index – Archive
    • Equipment Watch Page
    • American City & County Awards
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Statement
    • Terms of Service
American City and County
  • NEWSLETTER
  • Home
  • Co-op Solutions
  • Hybrid Work
  • Commentaries
  • News
  • In-Depth
  • Multimedia
    • Back
    • Podcasts
    • Latest videos
  • Resources/Events
    • Back
    • Webinars
    • White Papers/eBooks
    • IWCE 2022
    • How to Contribute
    • American City & County Awards
    • Municipal Cost Index
    • Equipment Watch Page
  • About Us
    • Back
    • About Us
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Cookie Policy
    • Privacy Stament
    • Terms of Service
  • newsletter
  • Administration
  • Economy & Finance
  • Procurement
  • Public Safety
  • Public Works & Utilities
  • Smart Cities & Technology
  • Magazine
acc.com

Case Study


Photo by NeONBRAND on Unsplash

Product

How mobile sensing empowered West Des Moines with critical road network data

How mobile sensing empowered West Des Moines with critical road network data

  • Written by American City & County Staff
  • 24th April 2020

Navigating roads during the winter weather months can be quite hazardous for drivers on our roadways. In fact, 17 percent of all vehicle crashes happen during winter conditions. to solve this problem, communities need to improve road weather data accuracy to increase safety and efficiency.

From limited budgets and increasingly severe weather events to meeting the expectations of motorists and communities that expect clear roads, the application of de-icing chemicals, spreading of salt brine, and removal of snow and ice, government agencies responsible for clearing our roads to ensure travelers’ safety face more winter weather road maintenance challenges than ever.

For West Des Moines, Iowa, that means city maintenance crews must develop a plan before winter storms move in because many operational decisions (e.g., when and how much chemical or salt to apply to which roadways, how many plows to deploy at what time and in which locations, etc.) need to be made before a storm causes problems.

Many agencies tasked with clearing roads rely on information obtained from road weather information systems (RWIS) gathering information on roads or highways. Crucially important stationary systems that deliver robust, reliable and current atmospheric and pavement conditions on roadways at all times, RWISs are expensive and, as such, tend to be thinly dispersed throughout road networks. Because RWISs are stationary, there are segments of road between the stations for which weather data is not collected but are still being significantly impacted by a winter storm.

For West Des Moines, the volume of traffic, pavement surface state and other environmental factors varied significantly enough between the current RWISs in the city to create gaps between fixed stations, impeding effective operations and mitigation. Without the ability to gather accurate data pertaining to the environmental conditions affecting their roadways in the right location at the right time, effective winter weather road maintenance becomes extremely challenging.

The Solution: Resilient Mobile Sensor Technology and Big Data

Enter mobile sensor technology and mobile data collection to supplement RWISs.

The creation of road weather forecasting models that empower transportation agency and municipality decision-makers with the information they need to keep the roads safe predominately relies on static RWISs. However, today’s mobile sensors are able to monitor a growing list of atmospheric and road conditions, including air temperature, relative humidity, dew point, road pavement temperature, road surface condition status and pavement grip to deliver data pertaining to the environment in which the vehicle is traveling.

While able to help support road maintenance decision-making through the measurement of atmosphere and pavement conditions, many mobile sensors are not rugged enough to deliver robust, accurate and reliable data from the demanding environment of a snowplow, especially during a storm.

To overcome vibrations, difficult weather conditions and other challenges posed by mounting mobile sensors on snowplows and other maintenance vehicles, the City of West Des Moines in the winter of 2018-2019 first deployed the Vaisala Mobile Detector MD30, a mobile sensor designed for any vehicle but specifically for snowplows.

Through a durable design and a patent-pending protective hood, the MD30 accurately collected and transmitted data on road surface state, grip, relative humidity, dew point, layer thicknesses of water/ice/snow, and air and surface temperature along its route and between weather stations. This information helped determine the segments of roadway that needed salt, liquid materials, plowing or a combination of treatments but after the data was transmitted, it needed to be collected and analyzed.

To better validate the data and visually identify how it looked coming back from the sensor, West Des Moines leveraged mobile data and analytical software, which provided decision-makers an in-depth view of roadways and automatically generated actionable data from weather conditions along the network.

The Result: Real-Time Data When and Where the City Needed It

Through Vaisala’s mobile sensor and advanced data collection and analysis technologies, the City of West Des Moines supplemented valuable RWIS data to better support the optimization of maintenance operations, such as snow clearance and prevention of slipperiness.

Additionally, operators found the ability to get an actual road friction reading along with data on whether the road conditions were icy or wet extremely useful.

“One of my operators was on a long route, and he could see the pavement was wet using the MD30. Then he noticed it suddenly turned icy,” Bret Hodne, public services director of the City of West Des Moines, says. “He was able to put de-icing material down in real time, instantly addressing the problem.”

Alternatively, plow operators determined de-icer applications were not necessary in many instances based on the information provided by Vaisala’s complementary mobile products.

Accessing this pavement and weather data in real time enabled West Des Moines city staff to more effectively make informed decisions before and during winter storm events. While using weather information to guide salt and liquid application rates is not a new concept, decision-makers at West Des Moines headquarters and in the cab of the plow were able to make instant decisions based on data obtained along their specific road network, taking a significant amount of “guess work” out of data interpretation. Now, road maintenance staff can make site-specific treatment decisions with confidence. As a result, the City of West Des Moines utilized only the necessary labor, equipment and resources to treat roads, ultimately seeing lower overall costs while maintaining expected levels of service goals.

Tags: road weather data road weather information systems winter road conditions winter storms News Public Works & Utilities Smart Cities & Technology News Public Works & Utilities Smart Cities & Technology Product

Most Recent


  • Reno, NV
    In Nevada county, data underpins efforts to address climate change
    Across the United States, cities and counties are doing their best to confront climate change in myriad ways—from bolstering seawalls to updating electrical grids and everything in between. But in order for communities to best direct their efforts and responsibly spend hard-earned taxpayer dollars, administrators need data. In Washoe County and Reno, Nev., for example, […]
  • $52B semiconductor investment intended to rejuvenate American manufacturing
    Three decades ago, American manufacturing dominated the semiconductor industry, producing about 40 percent of the global supply annually. But over time, companies shipped business overseas looking to cut costs, and today, the nation produces only 10 percent of all semiconductors. It’s something the Biden Administration is trying to change through CHIPS and Science Act. “There […]
  • How capital improvement project prioritization helps secure infrastructure funding
    Trillions of dollars in federal infrastructure funding have been made available to state and local governments across the U.S. since early 2020. This money has been allocated to address the nation’s aging infrastructure, much of which is at or near the end of its useful life, and to bolster the U.S. economy in the wake […]
  • Climate bill lauded; predicted to reduce nation's carbon footprint by 40% within decade
    Amid yet another punishing heat wave, the sweeping Inflation Reduction Act, which was approved along party lines Sunday by the Senate, represents a historic step in the nation’s fight against climate change by drastically reducing its climate footprint—while injecting billions of dollars into cities and counties. Along with provisions that cap prescription drug costs for […]

Leave a comment Cancel reply

-or-

Log in with your American City and County account

Alternatively, post a comment by completing the form below:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Content

  • New pretrial process helps courts, defendants and communities
  • New system provides wastewater treatment solution for FEMA workforce housing in Paradise, Calif.

White papers


Modern American Perspectives on Law Enforcement

14th July 2022

Reimagine the Employee Experience

12th July 2022

How to Assemble a Rockstar Website Redesign Steering Committee

7th June 2022
view all

Events


PODCAST


Young Leaders Episode 4 – Cyril Jefferson – City Councilman, High Point, North Carolina

13th October 2020

Young Leaders Episode 3 – Shannon Hardin – City Council President, Columbus, Ohio

27th July 2020

Young Leaders Episode 2 – Christian Williams – Development Services Planner, Goodyear, Ariz.

1st July 2020
view all

Twitter


AmerCityCounty

In Nevada county, data underpins efforts to address climate change dlvr.it/SWTGHy

11th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

$52B semiconductor investment intended to rejuvenate American manufacturing dlvr.it/SWPqHQ

10th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

How capital improvement project prioritization helps secure infrastructure funding dlvr.it/SWLQB7

9th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

Climate bill lauded; predicted to reduce nation’s carbon foot print by 40% within decade dlvr.it/SWHGQL

8th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

Partnership launches no-cost wastewater monitoring service for local governments dlvr.it/SW7N74

5th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

Investing in America’s onsite wastewater treatment systems for equity and sustainability dlvr.it/SW4Mb9

4th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

With passage of PACT Act, veterans service officers are preparing for an influx in applicants dlvr.it/SW4KTg

4th August 2022
AmerCityCounty

The 5 Procurement Superpowers Shaping the Future of Public Procurement dlvr.it/SW4DqT

4th August 2022

Newsletters

Sign up for American City & County’s newsletters to receive regular news and information updates about local governments.

Resale Insights Dashboard

The Resale Insights Dashboard provides model-level data for the entire used equipment market to help you save time and money.

Municipal Cost Index

Updated monthly since 1978, our exclusive Municipal Cost Index shows the effects of inflation on the cost of providing municipal services

Media Kit and Advertising

Want to reach our digital audience? Learn more here.

DISCOVER MORE FROM INFORMA TECH

  • IWCE’s Urgent Communications
  • IWCE Expo

WORKING WITH US

  • About Us
  • Contact Us

FOLLOW American City and County ON SOCIAL

  • Privacy
  • CCPA: “Do Not Sell My Data”
  • Cookies Policy
  • Terms
Copyright © 2022 Informa PLC. Informa PLC is registered in England and Wales with company number 8860726 whose registered and Head office is 5 Howick Place, London, SW1P 1WG.
This website uses cookies, including third party ones, to allow for analysis of how people use our website in order to improve your experience and our services. By continuing to use our website, you agree to the use of such cookies. Click here for more information on our Cookie Policy and Privacy Policy.
X