pacific nw transportation consortium region 10 Pactrans

Developing a Proactive Fuzzy-Logic Model for Optimizing Winter Road Maintenance Measures in Cold Urban Areas Using Real-time Data

PI: Tommy Tafazzoli (WSU), tommy.tafazzoli@wsu.edu, ORCID: 0000-0003-4946-3666

Co PIs:

AMOUNT & MATCH: $40,000 from PacTrans; $40,000 Match

PERFORMANCE PERIOD: 8/16/2020 – 8/15/2022

STATUS: Completed

CATEGORIES: Optimization, Road Maintenance, Data Driven, Cold, Winter

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DESCRIPTION: This research will introduce a method to comprehensively optimize winter road maintenance in urban areas where transportation quality can significantly be impacted by adverse climatic conditions. The research will aim at 1) detecting the exiting gaps in winter road maintenance, 2) maximizing the efficiency of the investments in maintaining the quality of transportation during the cold season, and 3) contributing to the safety, comfort, and economy of the residents of the affected areas.

The method is based on creating a proactive, rather than reactive, approach that can monitor road conditions, evaluate maintenance options using a fuzzy logic model, and prioritize preventive or maintenance measures to retain the safety and serviceability of urban roads during the cold season.

• The proposed research will provide a comprehensive approach for optimizing maintenance measures and is expected to have the following outcomes:
  It enables decision-makers to make comparisons between different possible scenarios based on the criticality score for maintenance.
• It prioritizes the maintenance measures for each facility based on the fuzzy score it has received after collecting data. This mitigates bias and human judgment in selecting between various alternatives.
• The suggested solutions are cost-effective, sustainable and will not compromise the durability of the pavement.