Project 3.2
Clarus Regional Demonstration Concept of Operations

As stated in the August 30, 2005 synopsis published by FHWA, "Clarus is a FHWA initiative designed to collect, quality check, and make available via the Internet, this nation's public investments in atmospheric and pavement observations which support surface transportation operations". The progress of the Clarus Initiative advanced to a stage in which the Government conducted a Clarus Multi-state Regional Demonstrations. Through the Clarus Multi-state Regional Demonstrations, the government aimed to achieve the following objectives:

1. Demonstrate that the Clarus System functions as designed by incentivizing a large number of state and local agencies to contribute data from their Environmental Sensor Stations (ESS);
2. Enable proactive transportation system management through utilization of the Clarus System; and
3. Provide an environment so that private sector service providers can innovate and create new and improved products that will benefit the public, academia and other private industries.

This Request for Applications (RFA) for participating in a "Clarus Multi-state Regional Demonstration Concept of Operations" was the first among several activities that the Government will initiate to carry out the full Clarus Multi-state Regional Demonstrations. The North/West Passage corridor was selected to participate in the first activity which included a Clarus regional demonstration concept of operations.

Research activities were completed to provide to the Federal Highway Administration's Clarus System environmental sensor station (ESS) metadata in support of the North/West Passage Clarus Regional Demonstration Concept of Operations Development. Efforts were focused on developing sensor and collector environmental metadata consisting of critical owner provided fields and ESS site and climate record environmental metadata as outlined by the Clarus System Design Data Dictionary. Challenges encountered during the research activities were centered on the changing status of the RWIS networks in the various North/West Passage States.

The significance of the ESS metadata development was that it provided a consolidation of critical metadata across the North/West Passage states and provides for the improvement of road weather forecasting or to assist in decision-making by local state agencies in determining appropriate responses to varying road and weather conditions.

Recommendations resulting from the research include maintaining future accurate and timely updates to the ESS metadata, establishing of state procedures to provide these updates, a call for annual reviews of state agency ESS metadata, and for a periodic evaluation by the national stakeholder community of the effectiveness of the ESS

Related Links

• Clarus Concept of Operations - Final Report (PDF, 4650K)
• Clarus ESS Metadata - Draft Final Report (PDF, 430K)