As
part of traffic monitoring programs, state transportation departments are
required to provide information about the status of their transportation
infrastructure based on traffic data collected through sensors. The Traffic
Monitoring Guide (FHWA, 2016) and the American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials (AASHTO, 2009) provide general guidance about how to
collect traffic volumes, vehicle classification information, and weight data. Weigh-In-Motion (WIM) systems are the technology most used to collect the
datasets used in assessing the impact of vehicles on the infrastructure;
increasing the safety of the systems; and assessing road damage and facility
lifetimes.
The goal of this research has been to help NCDOT identify and adopt
a new system for monitoring freight activity, especially truck weight
distributions on the highways across the state. To that end, we have documented
the current and future perceived use of WIM data by different stakeholders in
the agency, elsewhere in the state, in the country more generally, and for
technology providers. We have explored ways in which the state’s freight truck
traffic monitoring system can be used as a decision support tool for pavement
design, bridge design, asset management, load rating, commercial vehicle weight
enforcement support, and freight planning and logistics.
Cardinal
Virtual Weigh Station Installation Configuration
The results will help NCDOT
maximize the benefits of their new WIM program, offsetting the investment
required. Findings include identification of the spectrum of vehicle weight
data needs within the agency, an inventory of the statistics needed by
stakeholders, and identification of the standards required to generate them
reliably.
We anticipate that these findings will be used by multiple divisions
within NCDOT. They will use our findings
to motivate sustainable support for a WIM program that informs decision-making
among departments, including Pavement and Bridge Engineering, Freight and
Logistics, Interagency Coordination, Transportation Planning, Planning and
Programming, Strategic Initiatives & Program Support, Highway Operations,
and Multi-Modal Transportation.
