The Clear Roads pooled fund project (https://clearroads.org) began in 2004 with four member agencies and a focus on real world testing of winter maintenance materials, methods, and equipment. During its twenty-two years of funding and oversight of research projects, the pooled fund has grown to include thirty-nine member states funding five to eight research projects in a typical year. There have been four iterations of the study to date, the first under lead agency Wisconsin DOT, followed by three subsequent phases numbered I through III under lead agency Minnesota DOT.

Clear Roads’ projects and partnership initiatives include a strong emphasis on applied research with implementable findings. For example:

·        Clear Roads has conducted research to quantify the impacts of winter maintenance practices such as the evaluation of the effectiveness of direct liquid application of salt brine, employing vegetation management practices to leverage the benefits of solar radiation on melting snow and ice, and quantifying the economic value of winter operations.

·        Clear Roads research led to the development of a decision support and planning tool agencies can use to determine the impacts that new capital project will have on agencies winter maintenance budgets.

·        Clear Roads is continuing a now ten-year study of states’ winter maintenance data, collecting and analyzing metrics on resources, materials and costs, and publishing an online database and mapping tool.

·        Clear Roads investigates emerging technologies, such as automated indoor stockpile measurement systems and other advancements in technologies for winter operations, to learn if, when and how they may be incorporated into state DOT operations.

Clear Roads not only develops critical knowledge, but provides methods for communicating winter maintenance practices to more effectively share research results and successful practices among agencies. This technology transfer is achieved through a well established online presence and the use of digital tools.

·        Clear Roads created a public service announcement library for use by maintenance personnel and agency public information officers.

·        Clear Roads holds semiannual webinars to provide interim updates on state best practices and implementation of Clear Roads research.

·        Clear Roads continues to be a national resource for winter maintenance professionals by managing the Qualified Products List, creating and adding to the Winter Preparedness microsite, and working with AASHTO’s Technical Training Solutions committee by providing content and subject matter experts to provide web-based training in winter maintenance operations.

The Clear Roads pooled fund provides the critical funding and structure needed to evaluate new tools and practices in both lab and field settings, to develop industry standards and performance measures, to conduct benefit-cost analyses, and to develop and evaluate new designs and practices that further improve winter highway safety and minimize environmental impacts.

This project responds to research and technology transfer needs not currently met by other pooled fund projects. Existing partners make every effort to coordinate with other agencies to avoid duplication of efforts and to encourage implementation of results.

The current Clear Roads project (TPF-5(479)) will be closing, and the next phase of this pooled fund will begin by way of this solicitation.

Phase IV will maintain Clear Road’s long-term goal mission to advance winter highway operations nationally by undertaking practical, practice-ready research related to materials, equipment, and methods. This supports state DOTs’ pursuit of new technologies, practices, tools, and programs that improve winter highway operations and safety while maintaining fiscal responsibility.

Emerging priority areas of interest in FFYs 2027-2031 are likely to include advanced imagery, machine learning and artificial intelligence technologies, improved decision-making tools, operations coordination among states, updates to content and format of Clear Roads training materials, as well as others that cannot yet be anticipated over the next half decade.

In phase IV, Clear Roads will:

·        Address both operational and management research needs, investigating the most effective tools and practices for clearing snow and ice and for managing program resources, budgets, and performance measures.

·        Continue to promote an even stronger emphasis on the use of research results in the field.

·        Provide expanded support for implementation and technology transfer through the development of user manuals, training modules, peer exchanges, and quick turnaround syntheses of the most effective state practices from around the country.

·        Give additional attention to new member states from the southeastern and southwestern portions of the country and their unique needs and challenges.

·        Address emerging winter challenges in traditional winter-weather states, such as operational effectiveness in extreme cold conditions and changes in salt supply, availability and cost.

·        Continue to collaborate with other organizations focused on winter maintenance (such as the Aurora Pooled Fund, AASHTO, FHWA, TRB, APWA, and NPRA) to further leverage the research funding investment.

In achieving these objectives, state and local winter maintenance organizations will be able to make informed operational and purchasing decisions based on objective evaluations of promising materials and equipment.

By pooling resources, agencies can conduct more extensive studies across a greater range of conditions than could be done by a single agency with only its own funds. Moreover, by collaborating, sharing information, and conducting impromptu surveys, agencies benefit from each other's experiences and avoid the duplication of research efforts. The outcomes of these projects will help agencies get the maximum financial benefit out of their investments in materials, equipment, and technologies. 

To achieve the objectives laid out above, Clear Roads Phase IV will undertake these steps, as well as others deemed appropriate by the membership:

·        Conduct structured field testing and evaluation across a range of winter conditions and different highway maintenance organizational structures to assess the practical effectiveness, ease of use, optimum application rates, barriers to use, durability, safety, cost-effectiveness and other impacts of innovative materials, equipment, and methods for improved winter highway maintenance.

·        Conduct research that explores the use of innovative materials, equipment, and processes that will promote responsible winter maintenance operations. 

·        Conduct benefit-cost analyses to ensure that new technologies, materials, or methods contribute to operational efficiency.

·        Investigate state agency uses of performance measures for winter operations and develop management tools that support effective analysis and reporting of the measures.

·        Establish industry standards and develop performance measures for evaluating and utilizing new materials and technologies.

·        Support technology transfer by developing and disseminating practical field guides and training curriculum and reference materials to promote the results of research projects.

·        Support the exchange of information and ideas among state agencies via peer exchanges, ad hoc internal surveys, and collaborative research efforts that provide opportunities for winter maintenance specialists to share experiences related to winter maintenance.

·        Conduct national surveys to compile and document agency practices on the latest operational issues (for example salt shortages, level of service requirements, use of AVL, artificial intelligence, or other "hot button" issues).

·        Conduct quick turnaround, low-cost synthesis projects to investigate the latest research and practices on pressing winter maintenance topics.

·        Coordinate with the Aurora Pooled Fund (http://www.aurora-program.org/) to enhance the impact, and avoid duplication, of winter road weather research.

·        Promote public education and outreach related to winter maintenance and winter driving safety.

Clear Road project deliverables will include research reports, technical briefs, synthesis research reports, field guides, guides to best management practices, specifications, PowerPoint presentations, video documentation, training materials, software programs, online management tools, and public safety messages.

Research findings will be disseminated via the Transportation Pooled Fund website and the Clear Roads website. Technology transfer and training will also be a focus of every project with funding allocated to develop the resources necessary to communicate research outcomes to a variety of audiences and ensure that new methods, tools, and equipment can be implemented at the field level. Investigators and Technical Advisory Committee members will present findings at relevant meetings and incorporate them into training materials.