U.S. Department of Transportation
Federal Highway Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20590
202-366-4000
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE November 6, 2013 CONTACT: Cathy Gillen |
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(Washington, DC) — at an awards ceremony on Capitol Hill, the Roadway Safety Foundation (RSF) and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today recognized the Idaho Transportation Department (ITD) for both its Highway Safety Corridor Analysis Project and its Winter Performance Measure (WPM) System.
To better target its dollars to where they might prevent the most injuries and save the most lives, ITD implemented an innovative, data-driven project called The Highway Safety Corridor Analysis Project. The project helped identify the highest priority locations in need of safety improvements throughout all districts and across all categories. The process began with the identification of the highest priority segments for safety examination. The second step was to identify the specific locations within the priority segments where the density and severity of crashes for the previous five years was greatest.
With so many miles of roadway to track, it can be difficult for transportation departments to quantify their effectiveness in winter weather maintenance operations. To help measure the success of their efforts, ITD worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and with Vaisala, a global leader in environmental and industrial measurement, to develop a Winter Performance Measure (WPM) System.
As a result of this system, ITD now uses remote highway sensors to provide highway data that maintenance crews use to make informed decisions on when to apply highway treatments, which treatments to apply, and how much to apply. An automated system polls roadside sensors every 15 minutes and uses the data to plot and track trends that show ice and snow accumulation or removal, air and pavement temperature changes, and surface friction (grip).
ITD's WPM System is the only known tool of its kind and has generated widespread interest nationally and internationally.
"In these difficult financial times, it is refreshing to see state and local governments do what they can to ensure that their limited dollars are being spent in the most effective manner," said Gregory M. Cohen, P.E., Executive Director of the Roadway Safety Foundation. "Both of Idaho's award winning programs can serve as a model for transportation departments worldwide."
National Roadway Safety Award recipients were evaluated on three criteria – innovation, effectiveness, and efficient use of resources. Program categories included infrastructure improvements, operational improvements, and program planning, development, and evaluation.
Blue Ribbon Panel Judges included: Philip J. Caruso, Deputy Executive Director for Technical Programs, Institute of Transportation Engineers; Gregory M. Cohen, P.E., Executive Director, Roadway Safety Foundation; William A. Crank, Senior Community Relations Manager, Michelin North America; Anthony Giancola, P.E., Consultant, formerly of the National Association of County Engineers; Michael Griffith, Director, FHWA Office of Safety Technologies; Tony Kane, Consultant, formerly of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, and Richard Pain, Transportation Safety Coordinator, Transportation Research Board.
Roadway safety programs are a critical part of the nation's solutions to saving lives and preventing injuries on our nation's highways. There were 32,367 people killed in traffic crashes on U.S. roads in 2011.
The Federal Highway Administration and the Roadway Safety Foundation present the biennial National Roadway Safety Awards to programs and projects across the nation exhibiting excellence in roadway design, operations and planning. The RSF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit charitable and educational organization solely dedicated to reducing the frequency and severity of motor vehicle crashes by improving the safety of America's roadways.
For additional information on RSF, please visit www.roadwaysafety.org; on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/roadwaysafetyfoundation; and on Twitter at @roadway_safety, #RoadwaySafetyAwards.
For additional information on FHWA safety programs, please visit http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov; on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/pages/Federal-Highway-Administration; and on Twitter at @USDOTFHWA, #RoadwaySafetyAwards.
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ATTENTION EDITORS – Digital photographs of the award winners at the luncheon in Washington, DC will be available. Detailed information on the award winning programs can be found at www.roadwaysafety.org.
